


Mind Games

by Avaya



Series: Mind Games [1]
Category: Gears of War (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Drama & Romance, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Sticky Sexual Interfacing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 09:01:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5961685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avaya/pseuds/Avaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two comrades who barely tolerate each other have entered into a purely sexual relationship. One has feelings for another while the other just wants to get his jollies. But when emotion and competition threaten to end it, psychological warfare is waged. .</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Only A Meaningless Romp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had posted this story on Fanfiction.net and apparently my very risque stories are not allowed on there...lol. So I'm covering my bases just in case if it gets flagged. I don't own Gears of War besides the books/videogames that I purchased. I really enjoyed this story and so did a lot of others. I hope you will too. :)

Baird gritted his teeth to keep from moaning. The tough asshole ramming his cock inside of him was only grunting like a frigging animal. Baird didn't want to let him know that he was feeling so good that he couldn't even think. And he didn't want to show that he liked how much Marcus seemed to be enjoying him.

He hated the emotions he felt. They were nothing but trouble. Sex wasn't supposed to be like this, at least not for him.

He rested his head on the bedsheets, both hands flat against the mattress. All he could hear was the squeaking of the bedsprings, his own quiet puffs of air, the loud thwap that Marcus' balls made when they slammed against his ass, and Marcus' rough pants.

Fear began to grow within him as he felt Marcus' cock begin to grow inside of his ass. The blonde germaphobe didn't want anything to be discharged inside the entrance of his backdoor since there was no expert medicinal care that could keep him from falling ill. Even so, he was surprised to find out that he was a bit curious about what it would feel like...

This is dangerous...

He felt Marcus go from fast and short strokes to slow and long.

Oh shit! He's getting ready to cum...

Baird relaxed his mouth, realizing that he was hurting his jaw by clenching his teeth. He wanted to tell Marcus to pull out and bust his load on his ass like he usually did. Why was he changing the way they had set things? He'd never been in Baird this long before. And he had never felt Marcus lessen the pace of his cock inside of him.

His vocal chords wouldn't cooperate with his internal wishes though. His lips wouldn't part even if he could produce sound. He realized, as anxiety seized his heart as if to freeze it, that he wanted Marcus to empty himself inside of his ass. His cheeks began to redden with embarrassment.

He could hear Marcus' voice quicken, making his eyes widen and increasing the tension that he felt. His body became rigid. The unexpected effect was the explosion of pain that he felt as his muscles clamped down around Marcus' cock. The heartless bastard hadn't let up pistoning his ass hard and deep even though it was obvious that Baird's face was twisted with painful pleasure.

Baird wondered how it would feel when he took his Sergeant's cum inside of him. More than likely wet, warm, and uncomfortable. Not to mention the other risks involved: disease and the unfamiliar unwanted territory of intimacy.

The most important risk, though, would be Baird's loss of respect for himself. If Marcus happened to release inside of him, Baird knew that he wouldn't be able to hold himself together around the man. They would both have the knowledge that Baird had been Marcus' dumping toilet and that Baird had allowed it to happen. Nobody would ever use him that way!

Oh shit. No. I don't want it. I don't want him to. This dipshit can't have leverage over me! He thought, a low growl escaping his lips before he could stifle it. The fact that Marcus would always have the upperhand in future arguments if this happened was something that his pride couldn't nor wouldn't take.

But he could take his cock inside of him as much as he wanted. It was too damn amazing to pass up.

He berated himself for not being able to move his tongue and just lying in wait, as patiently as a fish, for what was sure to come. The only part of him that could move was his right arm. It reached under him so that his fingers could close around his cock and beat him off as he waited for the heavier man above to breed him.

Like a bitch.

Something had to happen and soon, before-

"Ah!"

Baird yelped unwillingly as Marcus quickly pulled out of him. He shot an angry look behind him, stilling his body since pain was spreading across his backside. The man wasn't known for his tenderness, but he wasn't the one having his ass torn up by a massive cock. So he'd better be careful with his...

Baird displayed his thoughts through his eyes, making sure that Marcus got the hint. The man seemed to tower above him, holding his hip with a large hand and swiftly stroking himself with the other. His expressionless face seemed to display that Marcus had complete control over him.

And oh how Baird hated that.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to decide if the cold look in Marcus' cerulean blue eyes was transmitting a message or if it was blank. Or if he didn't care that Baird was a man that easily bruised.

It didn't help his analyzation any that Marcus was wearing the bandana that symbolized the bastard among the Gears. He had to turn his eyes away so that he wouldn't have to acknowledge the fact that he was screwing the man that had gotten the promotion that he should have: Sergeant of Delta Squad. He repressed those thoughts whenever he bent over for him. If he didn't, neither of them would be satisfied for the time being.

The static of the comm radio broke him from his thoughts as he felt Marcus silently cum on his right ass cheek, clutching Baird's hip to steady himself. His cock smacked against his ass as a feminine voice broke through.

"CIC to Sergeant Fenix."

Baird was impressed at how light the older man was on his feet. He had gotten off the bed, pulled his boxers and pants up, and grabbed his radio from the bedside table in less than a few seconds.

The moron that risked his life for people that probably wouldn't do the same if the roles were reversed. Baird knew he wouldn't.

"Control. This is Fenix."

Baird could see the less tense look on Marcus' face that usually came over him whenever he spoke to Anya Stroud. He settled himself on his stomach, grimacing at the fact that his cock was throbbing against his stomach and his hole was a bit sore due to Marcus' hurried exit.

He watched Marcus speak to Anya in low tones as he put on his boots. How funny it was that the supposed morally uncorrupt Marcus Fenix had feelings for this woman and yet found it easier to talk a man out of his pants and lie with him. And only the two of them knew this.

A less confident person would think of themselves as the whore in this situation. But Baird knew that 99% of the world was stupid before the Hammer Strikes and 99.9% were stupid now. In this new world, it was fend and care for oneself. It was the only way one would stay alive and fit. Survival of the strongest...and all that shit.

He rolled on his back carefully, trying to ignore the overshadowing pain of his nether regions.

All Baird needed to relieve some stress and keep him going was appreciating mechanics, staying away from ignoramuses (which was most everyone), and no-strings-attached hard-core sex. He had to get the latter any way he could.

It was only natural for him to do anything to keep himself alive and feeling well, since he was the single most important person to look after. No matter how or what anyone thought, Baird was getting a really nice cut from the sex deal.

He realized that the room had become silent and found Marcus staring down at him. The right side of his lips were turned up in some kind of smirking expression as his frigid eyes were still unreadable.

What was that jackass amused about?

"You're not going to finish." His deep voice made it clear that what he said was meant to be taken as a statement, not a question. But Baird still treated it as one.

"Finish what?" His well-known leer grew on his face, politely telling Marcus to shove whatever thoughts he had up a dark place.

Marcus shifted his weight onto his other foot as he adjusted his ammo belt and put on his chest armor. Without looking at Baird, he said, "You're still hard."

The words registered within Baird's brain and he flushed. He realized then that he was splayed openly on the bed, in full view of his unaffectionate sergeant to gaze. He winced at how his cock pulsed, aching for release. How had he ignored the pain up until now?

He caught Marcus' gaze at his quivering cock and interlaced his fingers behind his head. No way in hell was he going to finish himself with Marcus just standing there, putting on his gloves. Time to get him to leave.

"Don't you have to go to CIC to-oh, I don't know? Kiss the Lieutenant's ass?"

He could see from the corners of his eyes that he had succeeded in souring Marcus' mood, for his smirk fell away. All he did was emit a low grunt, telling Baird that he better shut the hell up, before he exited the room.

So Marcus wasn't too keen on departing words? Baird snorted. Neither was he. Unconsciously, he let a hand drift down towards his thick pink uncircumcised cock and began to slowly, but firmly stroke it.

Something was bothering him though. He just couldn't figure out what.

He rested his free arm above his head as he slowly began to gyrate his hips with his strokes.

It wasn't the fact that Marcus and he were rolling in the sheets, detested adversaries in the public eye but fuck buddies in secret. Baird honestly didn't care what people thought of him. And he cared less of what people thought of the glorified war-hero.

He widened his legs so that he could watch what he was doing to himself, curling his fingers into the pillowcase. He began to jerk himself a bit faster.

It also wasn't because Marcus was secretly betraying Anya. He found that to be somewhat comical. The woman wouldn't put out as much as Marcus, a man, needed her too. He had to seek outside sources to tame his intense hunger for human flesh although he really cared about her. Baird understood the meaningless sex really well.

That's all that the women he'd bedded meant to him.

He was quietly moaning, pumping himself furiously now. He bit his lower lip as he began approaching that state of heavenly bliss that was called orgasm. Arching his back, his fingers holding his swollen cock tight as well as the pillowcase, he shot streams of hot sticky fluid onto his belly. He couldn't stop convulsing as more of his cum spilled out of him.

When he was spent, he laid his head against the pillow in a state of exhaustion. He couldn't even pay attention to the dulling pain that surrounded his ass. He let his fingers trace up his body, picking up some sperm along the way. His eyelids were heavy and he knew that he was about to drift off at any second.

As he brought his wet fingers to his face, it dawned upon him why he was bothered. And it made him shoot straight up in bed, his chest filled with anxiety and disbelief.

He was disappointed at the fact that Marcus didn't finish himself within his inner walls.

"Fuck." Baird muttered.

Emotions were nothing but trouble. And he could tell that this was the start of something intense brewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I love steamy sex scenes. And I love writing them. There is nothing better to read, in my mind, then the most intimate moments of people captured through words. And I hope I was able to give you that. If you like, please continue reading!
> 
> *A "dumping toilet" is just how it sounds. People use toilets to toss their wastes into. So Baird feels that Marcus would just be using him to relieve himself whenever he needed to.
> 
> *I know that it is "survival of the fittest"; I just changed it because I wanted to.
> 
> *Baird is uncircumcised. How do I know? He told me. ^~^
> 
> * I was alerted that some people may not understand what I mean by "patiently as a fish". When a fish is taken out of water, it flops around trying to breathe. But then it resigns to its' fate: that it is going to die and can not expend any more energy to survive. So it just lies there "patiently" waiting for itself to expire. Similar to the fish, Baird is just waiting for Marcus to cum inside of him which would bring about the end of his self-respect.


	2. Mutual Escapade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of a tale must be told, no? ^_^

**A few weeks later...**  
  
" _Whoo_! That's how you do it, baby!" Baird watched as Augustus Cole let a teenage boy, whose head only reached a bit past his stomach, tackle him to the ground. "Now if you use _that_ move on a defensive lineman," he guffawed, standing and picking the boy up with him. "you'll nearly always knock down your opponent!" All of the Pelruan male teenagers surrounding Cole seemed amazed.

Baird rolled his eyes and turned away from the sight. He understood what Cole was trying to do, but false hope would only lead to crushed realism. The kid wouldn't ever use that move because Thrashball _didn't_ exist... not until human civilization reconstructed itself. If it ever did. But it wouldn't happen in the kid's lifetime.

Thank you Richard Prescott for screwing with the future generations.

He noticed movement to the side of him and he didn't turn his head to see Samantha Byrne. Her eyes were trained on the boys that looked up to Cole with admiration as she walked up to him. "Nice to see that one of us has something to keep him busy." She said in her Indie twang, a small smile on her face.

Baird said nothing. Maybe if she got the hint that he didn't want to converse with her—and he meant it. He _really_ wanted nothing to do with a woman that he felt had no class—she would go away.

Sam then looked at him, Lancer held casually in her left hand. "Why aren't you tending to the only friends that you have?" she joked. "I hear that a Dill is acting up again."

The bitch. It was time to hit her where it hurt since she didn't seem get subtle hints.

He lifted his head slightly so that he would look down his nose at her and placed a cruel jeer on his face. "The same reason why Dom won't give you a chance: they both could do with and need better parts."

Yeah, he was a heartless asshole. He did relish the fact that Sam's eyes slightly grew with hurt and she seemed taken aback. She then scowled angrily.

"Fuck you, Baird." She said, before taking off the way that she had come. Baird watched her go, a smug smile on his face at the fact that he was able to get his way.

"You know that wasn't right, baby."

Baird turned to look at Cole whom looked down at him similar to a mother looking down at their child that constantly got into trouble: with exasperation.

He looked away and shrugged as they both walked off the small field outside of the town. "She had it coming."

"Aah, Baird. It was only a joke." He carefully looked his buddy over. "What's got you so worked up anyway? You don't usually talk to her like that."

Damn. No one could say Cole wasn't perceptive when he wanted to be. They had made it to the middle of the Pelruan settlement while he looked around for something to do.

Baird was frustrated. And not his usual annoyance, like having to explain to an idiot what the radiator on any vehicle was used for. This was purely _sexual_.

Marcus and he hadn't had time to screw since the Stranded gangs decided to make unannounced raids on the town. If anything, they'd been kept apart. Baird was always called to make sure the machines of the COG were working properly along with some of the Gorasni. He didn't know where the hell Marcus was assigned to. More than likely anything so that he could help someone which Baird scoffed at. He had also heard that Anya now accompanied him on some of his journeys.

That was another thing that worried rather than annoyed him. If Marcus and Anya were doing the sinful deed, he didn't want to be part of it. He was sure that Anya was still having her monthlies as well. That coupled with nothing to use for protection was just asking for a genital infection. Catching something at a time like this would be fatal...

He shook his head, paying no attention as someone came up to him to ask him something. He didn't hear them. And he didn't care, since he saw Cole move around him to stop the person. Cole would offer them aide, more or less.

If Marcus and Anya wanted to finally stop dragging their asses in their relationship, it didn't bother him. What did was the fact that he would have to find someone else to sleep with, since there was no way that he could go back to using his hand after fucking for months.

He couldn't do that.

* * *

Marcus was a perfect match for the sexual relationship. Baird hadn't known that Marcus' dick was still useful, since the man didn't react to anything physically. He assumed that it only functioned to release his piss, but wouldn't ever get up at the sight of a woman or a man for that matter. The fact that he had been able to even pleasure Anya was a feat that Baird thought him to be incapable.

It was odd how they had even begun their relationship at Jacinto. Baird knew that almost nothing escaped Marcus' vision. His eyes were always surveying something to see if it was out of the ordinary. But Baird didn't delve into that type of stupidity since he didn't want to stress himself out.

In time, Baird began to realize that Marcus was watching him whenever he was out patrolling with him or in the same vicinity. At first, it seemed like nothing to be worried about. Baird would be silently mocking the people in the mess hall and his eyes would fall onto his Sergeant.

Their eyes would connect for a few moments. Baird would say a smart-ass remark. Marcus would retort with a reasonable explanation and equally menacing jab as to why he was staring (like a speck of food on his chin) before he turned away. Or Baird would just scowl at him before he turned his own eyes away.

Then it developed into something that made Baird a bit uneasy. He usually would throw derogatory comments at Marcus who only seemed to deflect them back upon him. Around the time when large seismic readings began to alert the Combat Information Center that something weird was going on in the Hollow, Marcus had stopped answering him. It wouldn't matter what Baird said to him, he wouldn't respond. Baird shrugged it off as finally reaching Marcus' threshold for assholery and decided to look for another person to antagonize.

Yet, it didn't stop there.

He also began to notice that Marcus didn't really _look_ at him either. When Baird could tell that his eyes were looking in his direction, Marcus seemed to be looking _past_ him. He also limited his—if he could even call them conversations—with Baird to only a few grunts that had different meanings. If he hadn't even done _that_ , Baird would have been sure that the wealthy son of Adam Fenix didn't acknowledge him at all!

He wasn't intimidated by Marcus. But the fact that he couldn't understand him because of his lack of expression and the multiple meanings when he happened to express himself bothered him. Baird could gauge everyone and understand them by their reactions, but he couldn't do that with Marcus. And the little that he knew about him seemed to extinguish since Marcus wasn't treating him like a member of Delta or a comrade anymore. He treated him as a human of which he greatly disrespected.

And that didn't sit well with him. He knew Stranded that received better treatment from Marcus than what Marcus had been giving him. And it was an insult.

Baird knew that he always had a problem with regulating his emotions and when he couldn't repress them or his thoughts, his mouth was a crapshoot on rapidfire. The fact that Marcus seemed to be distancing himself edged on his nerves and always teased at the back of his mind until he finally blurted out what he felt to him one night.

It happened in the communal showers that all Gears who weren't officers were forced to use. Baird usually bathed at night when less men used it. It allowed him to take as long as he wanted without having to feel uncomfortable. He didn't like anyone to look at him or his Baby Baird, although he was damn proud of his thick cock.

He had undressed and put a towel around his waist when he heard a locker quietly shut. Grabbing his bar of carbolic soap from his own, he threw a glance to his side and saw Marcus undressing. He noticed the nice thick muscle of his arms and his flat stomach with a hairy trail that led to a tuft of black hair that peeked above the towel which clung to his hips.

He frowned. Marcus was a guy that was nicely cut. How come he hadn't noticed that before?

 _Because_ everyone _looks huge in an armored uniform._ He answered himself. _Even me._ _  
_

"Hey, dipshit." He said calmly like he always did. He had expected something akin to what he had gotten lately: a grunt. But all he heard was silence.

He looked over to see Marcus grabbing his own soap and hand towel from his locker. Maybe Baird hadn't said it loud enough. He damn well knew that he had though.

With anger seeping into his voice, he repeated, "I said _hey dipshit_? Are you too old to hear me now?"

Marcus did his slow head turn, arctic eyes narrowed on Baird. His mouth was set in a thin line and the large gash on his face that ran from his right temple across his right cheek seemed to glare at him.

It was no doubt about it. He was pissed. Because of what, Baird couldn't guess.

He didn't care though. He was tired of being disrespected. At least if they had a fight, he'd feel a hell of a lot better about the situation. He didn't like being bothered by Marcus when no one else made him feel that way.

A smirk grew across Baird's face as he turned back to take out a washcloth from his locker, eyes still on him. "Glad to know that your hearing's fine." He spit out sarcastically. "I mean, why would a degenerate dumbass that's losing his hearing get promoted instead of a mechanical genius?"

He didn't pay attention to the guttural growl that Marcus produced, a warning sign for Baird to watch his mouth, as he closed his locker. "I expected you to be reassigned like Granny's going to be soon. Maybe to Control so that you can _finally_ put the moves on Anya instead of wasting time so that another man could try to grab her."

Baird had crossed the line and he knew it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. But fuck it! He wanted to scar Marcus as badly as he had scarred him. No one made Damon S. Baird feel worthless.

He should have expected it as he suddenly felt fingers close around one of his shoulders and shove him hard. His head smacked against his own locker and the force of the impact made his head recoil. "Shut the fuck up, Baird!" Marcus threatened as the lockers shook as if they were unstable. His voice was raised a couple of octaves from his usual monotonous tone.

Baird knocked away Marcus' arm and swiftly turned to face him, his nose nearly touching his. "Why? What are you going to do? Stick me on a charge? Pfft." He shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't care. "Does it _look_ like I care? I voice my opinions whether you like it or not. That's not something new, _Sergeant_." His voice was full of malice.

He watched Marcus' lips contort into a snarl as he grabbed Baird by a shoulder and pushed him against the lockers again, bringing his face inches from Baird. Before he could even speak, Baird shot his mouth off again. He couldn't close his mouth if he wanted to. And he didn't.

"What are you going to do, _Sergeant_?" He mocked with a leer. "If you hit me, you might be demoted."

Marcus bared his teeth. "And you'd like that, huh?" His voice was low and dangerous, his eyes flickering intensely. His tight grip was making Baird's shoulder sore. But he didn't show any pain. He was sure that the other man could smell fear. He was a frigging animal anyway.

"Yeah. I would." he nodded, eyes twinkling, enjoying the fact that he knew Marcus was struggling with losing his rigid self-control in order to deck him or to back off.

His smile faltered slightly as he felt Marcus loosen his grip, then let his hand slide off his shoulder. His sub-zero temperature eyes were clean of any emotion once again, but his mouth was slightly turned up. In a smooth gesture, he raised a hand to his head, taking his bandana off.

Baird tried not to react. But it was impossible not to widen his eyes and his facial features to soften a bit. Whenever Marcus parted with the bandanna, he looked more human than the beloved leader of Delta Squad that everyone knew. He could see streaks of gray within his hair which told Baird that the stress was getting to him. He looked much less menacing, less like a beast, and, for some reason, much more tolerable.

Maybe because the bandana made him such a douche.

"It's not like you'd be given the promotion if it happened." He said, having regained composure, before taking his soap and washcloth to the shower after stuffing the bandana into his locker.

Baird rested against his locker, mulling over what had just happened. Marcus was right. He wouldn't have been given the promotion, because Baird wasn't a mindless nitwit that licked the ass of the Gear Officers like Marcus and the other assholes. He did what he wanted. Still, it was a bruise to the ego to find that an ex-con got a promotion before he did.

He picked up his things and followed after Marcus. He entered the shower room in a daze, saying something that slipped his lips from his unconscious. He tore the towel from his waist and hung it on a hook next to a shower-head, then turned on the faucet. He slightly shivered as cold water sprayed across his body when he heard a voice beside him.

"If...something you ...to..., Baird, ….it. Don't..."

Baird stared at Marcus for a bit, his eyes narrowing. "What? I didn't say anything." He was still lost in his thoughts and didn't want to be pulled from them. The water pressure made it hard for him to listen as well.

"Are your fucking ears clogged?" He glowered at Baird who stared daggers back at him. "I said if you have something to say, fucking say it!"

"I didn't say anything!" Baird nearly yelled, in front of Marcus' face once more. "What the _fuck_ are you talking about?!" Marcus' hands were half-clenched, as if he didn't know what to do with them. He usually had his fingers curled around his Lancer. Without it, he seemed lost. "But now that I think about it," Baird seethed, not able to hold himself back. "There _is_ something I've been wanting to tell you."

Baird watched as Marcus' body seemed to expand. He was stretching himself to his full height and his body was tense. That angry scar seemed to pulse on his face as his eyes narrowed and his jaw seemed to become more prominent. Suddenly, Baird felt extremely small compared to the hulk of the barbarian in front of him. He pushed those thoughts aside.

"Oh yeah." Marcus' voice almost couldn't be heard over the steady drum of the shower. "I'm listening."

His mouth seemed to be moving on its own, without effort. He put on his _I-don't-give-a-fuck_ face as he spoke. "You're a sanctimonious ass that only thinks of himself and his wants while making everyone believe that you don't. You make us stay with you whenever you have a moral conundrum, putting us in danger. You worry about Anya whenever she may be hurt but then, once your guilty conscience is eased and your fear calmed, you continue to treat her as before."

He scoffed. "You're an annoying self-righteous prick that feels that he is _way_ too good to converse with the likes of me. Well, let me tell you something, Fenix." Baird jeered, watching Marcus' only reaction be a very...slow...blink. "An ex-convict isn't promoted and thinks that he can frigging tell _me_ what the fuck to do. I do whatever the hell I want and you better get used to it!"

Silence ensued with Marcus only staring at Baird, seemingly unblinking which unnerved him. He finally spoke in a quiet tone, "You done?"

"I'd respect you more if you were honest and said that you put yourself before the squad. I know _I_ do. It's all about Baird." He berated as he picked up his soap. "Yeah. I'm done now."

"Good." He immediately responded, jabbing a finger hard into Baird's naked chest making him drop the soap. He stared at Baird with fury. "Understand this, you _piece of shit_. I don't give a _damn_ about what you think of me or how I run _my_ squad." Baird tensed as he heard Marcus take ownership of the squad. Asshole. "And you can shove your respect up your ass. _I'm_ the Sergeant in charge and what I say fucking goes. You don't like it, you can ask for a transfer."

Baird gritted his teeth. That put him in a precarious position. If he _did_ ask for a transfer, he'd look like a bitch and Marcus would have gotten his way. He wouldn't allow the man to get his way where Baird was concerned.

Also, Baird didn't want to leave Cole behind. He had to be there to watch the behemoth's back...and so Cole could save him from a dunked toilet and the men who put him there if he needed it again.

But if Baird didn't leave, he was once more under Marcus' thumb...

He closed the distance between him and Marcus, making Marcus move his arm to his side. The water beat down on the both of them and slowly, the situation began to seep into his mind.

They were about to brawl. In the showers. Naked.

He could see Marcus' large pink cock without having to move his eyes from Marcus' freezing ones. He noticed that his black hair was matted to his head and he could smell the reek of the soap from his body. He ignored the hairy trail that led down to the patch of hair just above his cut cock. It made Baird consciously aware of how he looked himself: very pale and nearly hairless except for his pits and ass.

And his dick still wore a turtleneck.

The corners of his mouth turned up. He didn't care what happened from then on. He probably would get his ass kicked. But it would be worth it to knock Marcus around a bit. That's how much he disliked him.

For stealing his promotion.

For acting self-righteous when he wasn't.

For treating Baird like shit when _he_ didn't deserve it.

With adrenaline surging through his body, he said, "Go fuck yourself." Then he drew his right arm back.

He saw something flicker in Marcus' eyes. He realized a bit too late that it was recognition as Marcus caught his right hook in the palm of his left hand. Baird stared in disbelief at how his fist seemed to be engulfed within a much larger hand. His eyes then went to Marcus' face and he saw the closest thing to a smile that he had ever seen from the nearly mute brute: eyes narrowed and lips curled.

"Hm." was all the bigger man said.

_Oh fuck._

Pain shot through his hand as Marcus slowly tightened his grip, bending the hand upwards.

"Argh!" Baird seethed through clamped teeth, buckling. He wouldn't allow himself to fall on his knees. It was a sign of weakness to himself, no matter what anyone else thought. Angling his body with his back facing the wall and, making sure he had good aim, he thrust his head hard into Marcus' stomach.

A soft _oof_ was all that Baird heard from above. He had felt Marcus' grip on him loosen as his head connected with his rough skin tissue. But, from his bent position, he could see that Marcus had only stumbled back, not fallen as he had expected. Pulling his hand from Marcus, he began to straighten up when he felt something hard hit the left side side of his body.

Baird widened his eyes as pain shot through him, making him nearly fall once more. He backed away in a daze, a hand comforting the bruised ribs as he watched Marcus slowly advance towards him.

What the fuck had he gotten himself to? He was toast if he didn't think of something quick...

His back hit the wall. He contorted his face into one that was of pure agony and somewhat pleading as Marcus stopped in front of him, about to deliver another punch. He clutched at his side breathing a bit hard. Marcus faltered after seeing Baird's face and dropped his right fist.

Baird slowly rose.

The sensitive dumbass. As if _he_ was going to let him get away with hurting him. He sneered inwardly as he thought of what he had to do and fast.

He closed his eyes, still pretending to be suffering, but actually trying to get the nerve to do what he _had_ to do or he couldn't live with himself. Opening his eyes again, he saw that Marcus was looking away from him in deep thought and a bit of embarrassment.

Perfect.

Before Marcus had any time to see it out of the corners of his eyes, Baird brought his right hook hard across his jaw.

His body didn't move. Only his head. Baird watched it snap hard to Marcus' right from the impact and Marcus' eyes grow in surprise. He then forced his confident _fuck-you_ smile on his face as Marcus did his extremely slow head turn to look at him. His eyes burned with contempt as he moved towards Baird until he had him pinned to the wall with his body.

Baird could hear his ragged breaths over the steady sound of the water, which was falling upon his head and dripping quickly down his strong body. Marcus was trying to keep himself under control, but he was losing the battle. Baird knew it and no matter if he would be beaten to a bloody pulp, he was going to always carry around the fact that he had made the cool, calm, and collected Marcus Fenix lose control.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Baird was losing an internal battle as well. The physical altercation spurred Baird in a way that he hadn't felt before. The adrenaline pumping throughout his body made him very aware to every little thing that Marcus was doing-from the slight twitch of his eyebrows to the pursing of his lips.

When Marcus punched the wall so close to him that he could feel the heat from his skin, Baird didn't flinch. He was bemused at the fact that Marcus was wondering if he should pummel him senselessly or let him go. He also found it interesting how he didn't see Marcus react at the impact from his fist to the wall as well. He wasn't dismayed at all, even at the oncoming beating. He knew that he'd take comfort at the fact that he stood up to Marcus while most other people would have backed down.

And that was well worth getting his ass kicked.

His breath was beginning to shorten since Marcus was using his weight to hold him still. He felt something hard pressing against his leg, but his focus was more on Marcus' next move than what he was feeling.

"Your turn." He muttered, unable to stop a smile from forming.

Marcus moved his jaw slightly, his fist flattening so that his fingers were against the wall. "You ready?" His eyebrows were slightly raised.

Oh yeah. Baird was dead. The fact that Marcus' voice dripped with lethal poison was evidence enough. He felt fear licking at his heart. The only way to keep it at bay would be to keep talking and repress it.

No matter the outcome.

" _Bring it_." He jeered, using a phrase that he knew Marcus loved to use. His voice didn't betray an ounce of what he truly felt though. He wouldn't be able to go on patrol for weeks after Marcus was finished with him.

He opened his mouth to say something else, more than likely to delay the inevitable, when he furrowed his brow and a look of confusion flooded his eyes. He could see that Marcus was silently reading his eyes as well, trying to decipher if Baird was just putting on a facade again. His eyes slowly widened as he watched Baird redden.

The whole atmosphere in the showers changed from being on the edge of a brawl to insanely awkward. Marcus' body was pressing hard against his, his face barely away from his, his cold feral blue eyes not leaving Baird's sky blues. His body had rubbed against Baird's sensually every time he moved. Baird was losing his breath which heightened the sensations that he felt: pain, adrenaline, and...arousal.

He looked away from Marcus realizing that he was hard. And he didn't know why.

The anticipation of the fight had left him as quickly as it had come, it seemed. Baird said nothing as he gently nudged Marcus to get him off of him. "Whatever." he said quietly, trying to get away. "Won't happen again."

Marcus relaxed his body a bit but didn't move away. Baird saw in his peripherals that his eyes were looking down and he followed his gaze, noticing that his cheeks were flushed as well. His mouth dropped open in distress as he realized that he was staring at Baird's cock.

"I'm _not_ interested in men, alright!" He stammered out, feeling anxious and uncomfortable. Marcus' eyes left his cock and tried to focus on his. He avoided his stare. "I'm just easily aroused. And you were rubbing against me so that led me to physiologically respond."

"Baird." He said his name so quietly that Baird didn't hear him.

"It's normal in all creatures." He continued ranting as he usually did when he was afraid or flustered. "Anyone can touch someone and make them excited."

"Baird." Marcus' voice was a bit louder, yet Baird still didn't hear.

"It doesn't mean that there is something wrong with that person. Only that the person is able to feel pleasure where it's not accepted in society for fear of stigmatizing dogmas. And-" He finally caught Marcus' eye. "-and I'll shut up now."

"It's okay." His voice was barely above a whisper as he turned away.

Marcus wasn't looking at him now, just trying to find something else to focus on. Baird began to flare up once more, thinking that Marcus was ignoring him again, until he caught sight of something that immediately cooled him.

Marcus was hard too.

_Oh shit..._

Baird turned around and picked up his soap and towel. Crap. They were both hard and needed to release. But they couldn't do it in the same room. It would be way too uncomfortable. Yet the discomfort he was feeling in the air was too much for him to stand _now_.

"Hey," He finally spoke into the heavy silence. "You won't watch me, will you?"

"You think I like cock, Baird?" He gave him a look that couldn't be described as anything but careful.

Baird rolled his eyes and smirked, daring Marcus to step up to him again. "You look like a frigging bear. So maybe." he said nastily.

"And you're a fucking hairless twink." Marcus replied in his monotonous tone. "I can see you taking it up the ass."

"Why would you visualize me in such a compromising position, _Sergeant_?" Baird shot back. "Unless if you actually thought about it. You have a woman, you know?" Snorting, he added with a leer, cocking his head away. "Well, you've served in quite a few battles so I wouldn't be surprised." He began to wash his arms with the soapy towel.

"I have." It was a whisper, probably not meant for Baird's ears. But he still heard it.

"You have _what_?" Baird said in that _I-really-don't-care_ voice of his. "I know all about your _glorious_ escapades. Don't start reminiscing, geezer. I don't want to hear it and I don't really care."

After a brief silence, he heard "Slept with men, smart-ass."

He froze, the water washing away the soapy suds on his body. He didn't want to turn and look, his gut feeling hollow and empty.

...the _fucking_ moron! Why couldn't he just lie! Or withhold information for the sanctity of one's mind? He didn't want to know that shit! He swallowed hard, finally turning his head slightly to cast an ocean blue eye on Marcus' muscled form.

He felt sick, but not because of the fact that Marcus had told him that he had been with men previously. It was because of what Baird now felt. He could feel his cock throbbing incessantly and he squinted at the want of release.

He had always repressed these urges within him, the curious nature that was his own about the feel of a cock inside of his unexplored place. He had always done that with the women he bedded, but he wondered how it would feel for him to have it done to him. The women seemed to enjoy it a helluva lot.

Because of this, Baird had always wanted to be given a hard fuck just so that he could experience the intense pleasure or pain that many men his age was able to feel. He had never acted on it though since he felt that no man would be able to satisfy him as he wanted. And because it wasn't a societal norm that an heir to the Baird fortune would follow.

Letting his eyes slowly take in Marcus' hairy and muscular form, he realized that Marcus would do just fine. Fuck his parents and what they would think. They were dead anyway.

"I thought so." He got out in his normal caustic tone, although he didn't know how he was able to. He supposed it was because the pain in his ribs was slightly ebbing while the one in his cock was steadily growing.

"You have a problem with it?" His voice was the same drone that it was most of the time.

"I honestly don't give a damn." Baird shrugged, trying to suppress his wants. "But I'm sure Anya would. I won't tell her though." He added, as he heard Marcus emit a deep growl, telling Baird that he was traveling in unwanted territory.

He knew why Marcus and Anya couldn't be together. It broke one of the regulations that the Gears follow. But screwing men behind her back wasn't exactly a healthy alternative. Especially if he'd been with this woman for fifteen years.

Baird didn't mind though. He had done his share to women as well. Maybe Marcus wasn't as devoted to Anya as he thought. If he was, there wouldn't be any way that he would be laying with men behind her back...would he? He frowned at the thought.

Why should he care anyway? It wasn't any of his business. It was just something else that he didn't know about the man that probably wouldn't be answered.

"Too bad you can't find someone that you could just fuck here." He nearly laughed, resuming his body washing. "Pretty sure a few guys wouldn't mind venting their frustrations."

When all he heard was the sound of gushing water, he became lost in his thoughts again. He snapped out of them when he felt that someone had their eyes on him. He turned his head to find that Marcus was still staring at him quietly and nothing readable on his face. Baird's eyes traveled to Marcus' cock which made them grow a bit. It then flicked up to connect with Marcus once more. He now saw something in the older man's eyes that he couldn't describe.

"What?" He almost snarled. He was beginning to feel excited. He couldn't stop himself as his heart began to quicken. "Stop frigging staring at me."

Marcus took a step towards him, bypassing his statement. "Ever want to?"

Baird's mouth was dry as he looked into his Sergeant's—no, Marcus' face. The Sergeant didn't exist until he put on that goddamn bandana. The Sergeant wouldn't _ever_ be this forthcoming with anything. And the Sergeant would have kicked his ass after he threw that punch to his face.

"Ever want to _what_?" He hoped that Marcus wasn't talking about what he thought he was. Because if he was...there wasn't any reason why Baird would turn down such an appetizing offer.

"Fuck a man." His voice was full of lust and so soft that Baird had to get a bit closer to hear him. He then casually looked him up and down and let out a soft grunt. "More than likely be _fucked_ by one."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't be on top?" He narrowed his eyes at Marcus in disbelief.

Marcus' mouth slightly turned up. "Do I need to spell it out to you?"

Baird said nothing, knowing damn well that he wouldn't ever be able to fuck someone of Marcus' size. He hated how Marcus knew that.

It was quiet except for the background noise of the shower when Marcus spoke again. "Well. Have you?"

He unconsciously licked his lips. "Yeah." He spoke without meaning to in a voice that wasn't his. There wasn't any sarcasm, just cold hard truth. "I have."

Marcus' chest was touching his shoulder now. They both were sharing the shower head as once steaming hot water ran lukewarm down their bodies. Baird turned so that he was face to face with him, his cock beginning to pulse against Marcus' thick member.

He was a bit anxious yet eager. He knew what to do and, against his better judgments, pushed away the thoughts that were screaming for him to stop in his head.

Instant gratification. That was all he wanted.

"So you wouldn't mind if I start off then." Marcus whispered, letting his fingers graze over Baird's cock, making him shiver.

He didn't know how he did it, but he put on a smirk. "Go ahead." He said as he set down his soap and towel on the make-shift stand next to the shower-head, eyes never leaving his. "But if we get caught, I'll say that you're harassing me."

It was indescribable how Baird felt when Marcus' fingers curled around his cock. He knew by the way that his hand was slowly stroking him that he was going to have the best jerk-off session.

Baird only hesitated momentarily before letting his hand hold Marcus' own cock. It was wet and soapy, but he could still feel how hot it was. It was a bit bigger than his, which made him feel a bit inadequate. His fingers barely got around it. But the feeling dissipated as he looked down to watch the the two of them feeling on each other's cocks. The scene made pre-cum leak from the tip of his penis. He also saw a large glob of it drip from Marcus's cock, some getting onto his fingers.

Baird had never had another man stroke his dick before. He'd had women, but they really didn't know how to pleasure him as much as he had himself. But Marcus...Marcus knew how to do it. He was beating Baird off better than his own hand. It was as if he _knew_ what he would enjoy. It made sense though since Marcus had his own cock to play with.

He moved his hand up and down the length of the large cock at an unhurried pace, unconsciously moving closer to Marcus. They weren't looking at each other. They couldn't. If they did, they'd have to stop and neither of them wanted to. Not when they both had massive hard-ons. So both of them kept their eyes on the hands moving along the shaft of both cocks, ever so conscious of the two of them inching closer together.

Baird then felt Marcus put his free arm around his waist, pulling him closer to him. He didn't resist. All he did was put his arm around his beefy shoulders and sigh in satisfaction. Their cheeks were pressed together as both of them began to quicken their strokes, listening to the contented moans emitting from one another.

This was sensational...the best that Baird had ever felt in a long time. He was delighted in the fact that their bodies were moving harmoniously together, that his soft pink nipples were kissing and caressing Marcus' rough ones, that the hairs from Marcus' hard belly was tickling his bare one.

The now cool water showering down on both of them allowed them to easily move against each other. He was intoxicated by the sound of a deep lustrous voice that only made him become harder. He faintly realized that it was Marcus. He tightened his grip around Marcus' neck as he felt him tighten his arm around his waist.

His thoughts began to penetrate his drunken lust. He was liking this _way_ too much. He was easily being seduced by a man that knew how to work a cock. And the man was the same asshole that he had no other choice but to listen to unless if he wanted to be stuck on a charge. But the way he was feeling made him forget all of that in the next moment.

He felt Marcus suddenly begin to tense, crushing him against his body. He heard his raspy breaths grow a bit louder and he followed suit, scraping his smooth cheek against Marcus' whiskers. He was pumping Marcus furiously now, feeling the bigger man bringing him closer to the edge of bliss.

He was about to reach ecstasy when he realized something was wrong.

He wasn't able to cum.

Something was keeping him from releasing and it was squeezing the base of his cock hard enough to stop it. He let out a soft anguished cry as he tried to remove what it was. It dawned upon him after his fingers glazed over it.

Hard. Burly. Rough.

" _What the hell are you doing_?" Baird snarled, eyes facing Marcus as he was trying to pry his fingers away from his cock. He nearly collapsed to his knees as Marcus tightened his grip. He was shocked that Marcus was able to still hold onto his body pretty well although the two of them were slick with water and suds.

Marcus' forehead touched his as Baird struggled against the pain. "If you ever punch me again..." he began in a menacing tone.

Baird bit his bottom lip. Guess Marcus wasn't as stupid and monstrous as he looked.

"I'll punch you now if you don't finish me." He got out through clenched teeth. An agonizing moan escaped his lips as Marcus gripped him tighter. He tried to do to Marcus what he was doing to Baird, but Baird was in too much pain.

"Alright!" He nearly yelled, his arm still around Marcus' neck and trying to pry his fingers from him. His sky blue eyes blazed at the other man in rage. Marcus looked completely calm. "Alright. I won't hit you anymore. Now fucking finish me, asshole!"

"Watch your mouth, twink." Marcus growled softly, relaxing his grip on Baird's cock.

Baird's cheeks burned as Marcus began to beat him off, the pain slightly ebbing. His hand reached between them for something, but he was enjoying the ecstasy he was feeling too much to care. All he knew, though, was that in a matter of seconds the small spat between them was washed down the drain with the cold water and he was thrusting his cock into the tight grip of Marcus' hand once more. Marcus' lips grazed his ear and his voice, filled with wanton lust, swept into it. It was too much for Baird to take.

Clutching onto his shoulder, Baird's body froze as he let out a sensual moan next to Marcus' ear as he cummed into his hand. He felt Marcus react by only letting out a soft but gruff grunt. Baird then felt streams of sticky fluid on his own fingers, not realizing that he had grabbed Marcus' cock again to resume jacking him off. He felt Marcus slowly rub his messy cream along the shaft of his dick. Baird imitated him.

He was panting hard, too tired to do much else besides listen to Marcus' quiet breaths in his ear. He was a bit afraid at the fact that he had shown fear in front of Marcus, wondering how that would come back to bite him in the ass. He wanted to push him away, but he was too shocked to let him go. He hated to admit it but he was a bit flustered as well. He wanted to know what was in store for the both of them...

Their racing hearts slowed and the freezing water pelted them with what felt like ice rocks, yet they still did not pull apart. Maybe it was because of embarrassment. Maybe it was because of the fact that both of them had committed a grievous act that made them feel a bit guilty. Maybe it was because Baird didn't really want to look into Marcus' face since he didn't know what had compelled him to agree to such a gratifying experience. Or maybe it was because he hated how he was feeling now: So confused and wanting, begging for more of what he lacked severely.

None of that mattered though. What was done was done and could not be taken back.

Still holding his arm around Marcus' neck, he whispered numbly into his ear, "Well, now. It looks like you've found someone that you can fuck."

* * *

That had been the start of their passionate yet romance-less trysts. It had to be that way. Baird couldn't go back to feeling how he felt that night...as if he wanted to actually kindle a serious partnership with the man. He didn't ever want to be hurt. And he would be if he tried to pursue anything further.

 _I mean, look what he's done to_ Anya _!_ he thought. _If he did that to her, he'd probably do worse to me..._

Besides, it was his fucking Sergeant. The man that was in the same league of intelligence with frigging apes since all he did was grunt and walk like a heavy-footed gorilla. If he wanted a guy for a relationship, he could do much better than him. Men were slim in the post-apocalyptic world though.

They met whenever they could in secret, following the guidelines and rules that they had set up for themselves. It had been only recently that Baird had allowed Marcus to be inside of him. He really didn't want to risk disease and, with Marcus' possible risky and sexual history, that was a high possibility. It surprised him how much he actually trusted Marcus since what they were doing could potentially endanger them both.

He was still confused as to why Marcus wouldn't bed Anya when he easily could. But that didn't matter now as he came out of his thoughts in the middle of Pelruan. His eye caught Marcus and Anya speaking to the survivors of Jacinto, renamed by Prescott as Jacinto's Remnant. It was obvious by their body language-well, hers at least-that they were fucking. She was so close to him that they touched whenever one of them moved. She casually glanced up at him for guidance and in a sort of awe although she actually had more authority. Marcus looked down at her with more than respect and his expression seemed to reveal no stress.

Baird slightly shook his head. Nothing of his had ever been taken away from him. And he didn't give a damn _who_ it was, he wouldn't ever give up something that he considered he had a right to without a fight. That meant his inheritance from his parents along with any mechanical gadgets that he scavenged, repaired, or made.

And Marcus.

They both had a pact that wasn't going to be broken and _couldn't_ be broken. The reason for that was all because of Marcus himself since he was a stickler to the rules. But was Marcus something worthy to be fighting over? He and Anya both had history and they eventually could stop half-assing around. It looked like they were about ready to. Would Baird sacrifice his own sex, happiness, and slice of heaven pie for those two to copulate when they would never make babies?

Cole nudged him in the shoulder. "Baird baby, what you lookin' at?" He looked around, trying to decipher where Baird was steadily gazing.

"Nothing." He turned away from the sight of Anya longingly looking at Marcus to settle on his buddy's own. "You asked me what's wrong with me?"

"Yeah." Cole nodded. "I ain't ever seen you like that before. You hurt Sam pretty bad."

"Something of mine is about to get stolen, Cole." Baird put on his smirking expression. "And I just decided that I have to stop it before it happens."

His best friend then began to laugh, bending his big body over as he put his hands on his knees. Baird saw Marcus casually glance over at them. "Come on, baby." Cole said, trying to catch his breath. "You ain't still pissed because Parry stole one of your bot cams, are ya?"

"No. That jackass won't be stealing any more of _my_ things, that's for sure." He then scrunched his nose as if he was disgusted. "It's something else. But don't worry about it. 'Kay, big guy?" He slapped Cole on the back before beginning to walk off. "Let's see what's getting these civilians riled up."

As he walked up to the crowd with Cole, a fierce grimace on his face, he felt a pair of chilly eyes trained on him. He didn't have to turn his head to know that Marcus was secretly looking at him with questioning eyes.

Just as well. In the end, there would be no question as to who would own Marcus.

 _All_ of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Oh no. It seems like Baird is getting pretty serious now...he's declared war and decided that Marcus is one of his possessions. Marcus and Anya don't even have a clue...lol. Or do they? :)
> 
> I hope you like it! Please review and continue reading to enjoy more deliciousness between these two smexy men!
> 
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> For those who don't know...(it's A LOT but everyone should be informed):
> 
> 1) Chairman Richard Prescott burned 99% of Sera with the Hammer of Dawn Counter-Attack on the Locust. He nearly caused the human civilization to end, in my opinion.
> 
> 2) Pelruan was a settlement on Vectes, an island that was untouched by the Hammer Strikes and the Locust until the COG showed up. Vectes also had a COG Naval Base.
> 
> 3) The Gorasni were an Indie people that fought with the COG for the right of the Imulsion in the Pendelum Wars.
> 
> 4) "Sinful deed" would be the breaching of contract between an officer and infantrymen copulating (having sex). It's not allowed in the COG. Nothing religious about it. :)
> 
> 5) A "bear" is a hairy gay man. A "twink" is a boyish looking gay man with little to no body hair.
> 
> 6) In the novels, it's obvious that Sam has an attraction to Dominic Santiago. It's also obvious if you've played GOW3, when Clayton Carmine, Sam, and Baird have the following conversation while trying to cross the Centennial Bridge to get back to the ship Sovereign (Marcus, Dom, Jace, and Anya are protecting it from the leviathan):
> 
> Clayton: Dammit. That ship's going to be twenty klicks away by the time we get across this bridge.  
> Sam: Oh, Carmine. You're a glass half-empty man, aren't ya?  
> Clayton: Buy me a beer and I'll show ya.  
> Baird: Oh, she won't buy you anything. Your name's not Dom.
> 
> Sam DOES comment about how she can see Baird and her in a house with a couple of kids and a dog. But that was just funny banter. They could have had something after Dom died and the core team of Delta was about to rescue Adam Fenix (the cut scene where Marcus sends Jace Stratton and Sam to help out with the incoming troops, Baird and Sam shared a tender moment when he told her to be careful). But this story obviously happened before that time.
> 
> ...When I told Baird that I thought that Sam and he would make cute babies, he threatened not to tell me about any more of his sexy rendevous. Can't have that now, can we? :P So he DOESN'T like Sam. :)
> 
> 7) "Granny" is the nickname Baird gave Bernadette Mataki. She's the woman of Colonel Victor Hoffman. If you have no idea who she is, she's the voice over the intercom when Delta finally reaches Anvil Gate (and the city of Anvegad) warning of the fact that the Locust were breaching their line of defense in Gears of War 3. You still don't know? Visit gearsofwar. wikia. com.
> 
> 8) Staff Sergeant Lennard Parry is an engineer within the COG. He was in the novel Coalition's End. He and Baird tended to butt heads because Baird would steal scrap from machines in a bin and Parry would steal his bot cams or anything else he needed.
> 
> 9) The people that evacuated Jacinto before Delta Squad sunk it (Gears of War 2) are called Jacinto's Remnant. There is also a book by the name "Jacinto's Remnant".
> 
> 10) Anya Stroud is sterile. She can't have babies. It was in the novels that I've read (either Aspho Fields or Anvil Gate).


	3. Expect The Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Baird has decided to fight for his possession and claim him as his own from Anya. How will he do such a thing? Enjoy! :]

Baird got to his room and immediately began to take off his chest armor. He heard the door shut behind him. Something thudded on the ground simultaneously when he dropped the heavy chest piece. He turned his head to see Marcus standing behind him, arms at his sides in an intimidating stance.

Baird took off his ammo belt and set it on his dresser. "I'm tired." he said, nearly laughing at his own joke. Women. Always tired when men didn't want them to be.

All Marcus did was snort.

Baird sat on his bed, resting his forearms on his knees, staring at Marcus. The man slowly moved to stand before Baird. Baird had to sit back to be able to view the monstrosity fully. For a fucking neanderthal, Marcus was huge.

"You're going to make me say it." His deep timbre voice alerted Baird that he should be prepared for something serious that Marcus had to say.

But Baird was only serious when Baird wanted to be.

"You know I _love_ to hear your nagging voice." He smirked, rolling his eyes. "Let me guess. You want a blow-job?"

Marcus' eyes widened a bit. Baird knew that he had hit something pleasurable within him. What man didn't want to have his dick sucked? It went against one of the biggest rules that the two had made for each other—well, Baird had made: no intimately sexual requests which included kissing, cumming in the ass—and fellatio.

"Why the sudden interest?" He could tell that Marcus' curiosity was piqued since his head was slightly tilted to one side and he had an eyebrow raised.

Fuck. This may actually happen...

"Just wanted to try it. Besides, I haven't been blown in awhile. You probably haven't as well." The smirk was still on his face, but he was now wishing that he had shut the hell up. How was he going to take in Marcus' nine inch beef stick? Something was in Marcus' eyes for a fleeting moment, but then it disappeared. Maybe Baird had imagined it?

"This has nothing to with Cole, does it?"

Now it was Baird's turn to be surprised. The joking expression wiped clean from his face, he gave Marcus a quizzical look. "Uh, no?" He threw his arms open as if inviting the other man for a hug. "Why would it?"

Marcus said nothing, but stared down at Baird with his eyes as frozen as ice. Something was bothering Marcus, he knew that much. And if he didn't extinguish whatever doubt Marcus had and soon, he would either be finding another fuck buddy or using his hand again. He nearly smiled as he leaned back on the bed, using his forearms to support him. "Don't tell me that you think that I've told Cole that we're fucking?"

A small frown was on Marcus' lips as he unclipped his ammo belt and let it slide to the floor. "You _do_ have loose lips. You nearly told Anya about Prescott's data disc."

 _Damn it, Granny._ Baird thought. He then sneered. "Well, that's good then. You wouldn't want tight ones on your cock, now would you?"

 _Oh shit._ He hadn't meant to bring up the blow-job scenario once more. But he couldn't seem to get it out of his mind. A sickening feeling grew in his stomach when he realized that he _wanted_ to do it and have Marcus perform it on him.

Marcus' frown was replaced with one side of his mouth turned-up: a slight smile. "You want to try it?" He asked quietly, almost lulling Baird into semi-ecstasy.

Yeah. The man was a frigging expert at seducing people out of their clothes. That was his problem...and it could be Baird's.

"Depends." He said, sitting up once more. "Have you been fucking Anya?"

If Marcus was the modern day apocalyptic Casanova, then Baird was the anti-thesis of that: a mood killer. He watched as the older man's face grew into a domineering scowl.

"And that's any of your business?" His voice was a bit higher than his usual tone, which was an indicator that he was cross.

Baird stood up. Marcus didn't take a step back to allow him room to stand comfortably. He was pinned tightly against the edge of the bed and the massive body belonging to his Sergeant.

Jackass.

"It _is_ my business when I could frigging die due to some disease if you're sticking her then me!" _There was no way in hell that he's going to fuck two people when many men can't even fuck one._ Baird thought.

"She's clean." His voice alerted Baird that he was being completely serious. His cold eyes conveyed the same message as well. But Baird didn't take the hints.

"And the medicinal science of today can _surely_ agree with you." he scoffed, watching Marcus shift his weight onto his other foot. "Just because _you're_ entranced with her doesn't mean that she's clean."

Their communications radio then flared alive as a voice came over the net.

"Stroud to Fenix." It was Anya and she sounded distressed. Maybe Marcus hadn't been giving her any as well.

He watched Marcus push the button on his ear piece with his finger. "This is Fenix, Lieutenant. Go ahead."

"A riot seems to be forming just outside the Admiralty House due to the tension between the ex-Stranded and Pelruan villagers. Colonel Hoffman and a few others are trying to handle the situation, but your presence there may help dissuade any possible confrontation."

Marcus looked straight at Baird as he said his next words. "Nothing better to do. I'm on my way."

The. Fucking. Asshole.

He wanted to punch him. He really did. But he knew that the outcome wouldn't be as fantastic as last time. So he settled for a caustic expression to come upon his face as Marcus put on his ammo belt and chest plate.

"You got it, _Ser-geant_?" He mocked.

"Yeah." He said, casting his piercing azure eyes on Baird's frame. "We got it taken care of, _Corporal_." He then left Baird to passive-aggressively kick his dresser.

And very very erect.

* * *

Baird was in the make-shift maintenance bay where the COG stored all of their utility vehicles. It was hot as hell and he was sweating profusely. The heat that emanated from the sparks of the tools being used, the many men's bodies, and their breaths weren't helping.

The Dill that he was working on was frustrating him. He just needed to find or make a usable air filter and tweak the engine a bit before it could be used again.

"Hey."

The voice was loud enough to be heard over the continuous buzzing of saws. Baird popped his head out from inside the hood of the vehicle to look over at Dominic Santiago, Marcus' right hand man.

What the hell did he want?

He had to remember that he needed to keep his tone civilly polite since Dom had found his wife in the Hollows and was forced to put a bullet through her.

"Hey." He said, standing up and twirling the wrench in his hand.

"You just about done here? I was going to head to the bar to play cards and have a drink. We all need it after today."

Who was he telling? Baird nearly had to stick his dick in a pile of ice to get his stiff cock to shrink. Very painful.

"Yeah." He said, putting the wrench in his tool belt and heading outside with Dom. He had an inkling that Dom wanted to talk though.

A warm breeze hit them as they began to walk in silence towards the Pelruan bar. Although it was a bit too warm for Baird, he welcomed it. He slowed his steps to match Dom's who seemed to be taking his sweet time to say whatever Baird knew was coming.

"Baird," He finally began. "You didn't say anything to Sam, did you?"

"No." he answered innocently. _Damn_.

Dom looked sideways at him. "She told me what you said to her before."

Baird tried to keep his snicker at bay. "I was just being honest with my thoughts. Never bothered her before."

He heard Dom sigh and realized that the man didn't need anymore pressure than what he had on him. No one did.

"I'll talk to her." was all he said and Dom nodded.

When they reached the bar, they entered it to find Sam, Cole, Anya, and Marcus playing a game of poker. Dom shuffled over to them as Baird headed straight to the bar. If he went towards the table now, he would, more than likely, sour the jovial mood.

Besides, his heart had quickened once he saw Marcus' large form. He didn't know why it did, but he wanted to settle himself before he went over. He was glad that Marcus hadn't looked up to see who had entered.

He settled on a stool. "Beer. And _not_ the moonshine." he said to a pretty barmaid.

She nodded, smiling sweetly to him, then went to go get what he asked. Baird leaned forward so he could see the woman fully.

Nice plump rack.

Not so much ass.

A pretty face.

A bit too thin for his tastes.

He'd give her a six out of ten.

"Pervert." Sam said in a low tone as she sat beside him.

"I never invited you over." He said as he retrieved the beer from the woman and took a swig. It was gross as always.

Sam placed her order with the woman before turning her attention back to Baird. "Dom said that you needed to talk to me."

"Yeah." He nodded, looking down at her. "The Dill didn't need anything better."

Sam gave a small laugh as she shook her head. "You are a sad little man, you know that?"

"Why? Because I don't associate with idiots or because I don't try to be a part of the collectivist group that is _made up_ of dumbasses?" He sneered.

"No. Because you're a selfish ass." she said, taking her beer from the barmaid and heading back to the table.

"Everyone already knew that." He called back to her, raising his glass to her parting before putting it to his lips again.

He had finished his beer and was about to leave when a hand rested on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes as Bernadette Mataki sat down next to him, her long gray braids falling past the seat of the stool.

When did she get here?

"I need to talk to you, Blondie."

He sighed. "Listen, Granny. I've heard all of the war stories from other old people. Do I need to listen to another one?"

"I'm being serious, Baird." she said, extremely somber. "Sam didn't deserve what you said to her."

Baird ordered another beer before turning his shocked eyes onto Bernie. "So _everyone_ knows?"

"All of Delta." she nodded.

He shrugged. "I was having a bad day. Everyone knows that when I'm not in a good mood, it's best not to tick me off."

"It's still no excuse, Blondie."

He exhaled through his nose as he turned in his seat to see the core members of Delta watching them two. He carefully avoided his Sergeant's eyes as he gave them a two finger cursory wave.

"Why are they all staring?" He said, turning back to her.

"Should we go over and you apologize or do you want to go somewhere more private?"

He snorted. " _I'm_ not apologizing for anything. It'd ruin my image."

"Can't get any worse than it is now." She laughed as Baird stared at her through narrowed eyes and a mean sneer.

"It's not as bad as you, Cat Lady." Baird retorted, taking a long drink from his new beer. "Besides, I need to go fix up our Dill."

"So you're going to run and hide instead of doing the right thing?"

Baird rubbed his chin. He didn't like how his ego was being challenged. Or how this was a Catch 22: damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

"At least stay for a card game." She goaded. "You can tell her after."

It wasn't as if they wanted him to join them because they _wanted_ him to. It was all because of the whiny bitch Sam who tried to out drink, out curse, and out muscle any male Gear. All she needed was a penis and she'd be good to go.

But if she couldn't take insults like many men had to, then she wouldn't make a good one anyway.

"I'll have the Lieutenant order you, Blondie." Bernie joked. He heard a small laugh and turned his head slightly to see Anya ask for another glass of moonshine.

She was _the_ last person Baird wanted to see. Because of her, he probably wouldn't be able to have sex as freely as he used to. It wasn't her fault, but he knew that it was as well. If Marcus wasn't so attached to her, they would be able to continue doing what they had been without any worries or interference.

And if Marcus wasn't such a softie, he and Baird would either be fucking or not. Point blank.

 _No. I_ will _have what I want._ He thought. And he knew exactly how to do it. It would be dangerous, but it was the only way.

He got off his stool, promising the barmaid—was her name Linda or Lauren—that he'd be back to fix the cooling system in the bar. Bartering was the only way that he could pay for what he needed since cash was pretty much useless.

Baird then turned to Bernie. "I'll talk to Sam later. Right now, I need to make sure that no one's trying to steal parts that I need for our Dill. Tell Cole I said hey."

He headed out, not looking back at the people in his squad. He really wanted to acknowledge Cole personally, but if he did, then he'd have to do the same for everyone.

And he couldn't face Marcus. Not yet.

* * *

It was dusk when Baird knocked on his door. He knew what he was doing and he knew he should keep himself from doing it, but he _wanted_ to. And, in order to drive a wedge between Anya and him, this _needed_ to be done, although there was a possibility for Baird to be affected emotionally. But only if it was safe. Only if the two of them weren't at risk.

Marcus opened up his door, dressed in nothing but a towel, slick with water that clung to his hair all over his body. He placed a hand on his door frame and moved aside, giving Baird permission to entrance.

"Expecting Anya?" He quipped, stepping into the room before Marcus shut the door. He then stared around in disbelief. "Hey! Why is _your_ room bigger than mine!"

"Maybe because I'm the Sergeant of Delta." Baird shot him a dirty look as Marcus sat on his bed, legs spread. His demeanor was calm but his eyes withheld a turbulence of emotions which Baird couldn't decipher.

He _really_ detested not being able to accurately guess what Marcus was feeling.

"Is that why you came?" He said nothing more. Marcus truly didn't talk much and it would lessen further every time someone close to him died. But Baird knew what he meant.

"I came to ask if you two were fucking. And if you are, then I'm not fucking you anymore."

Marcus made a sound that was similar to a chuckle. "You've never fucked me, Baird." He continued as Baird avoided his eyes, feeling awkward. "It was one of the rules that we agreed to."

"Good for you, moral saint." Baird said sarcastically, still not looking at him. He felt like an idiot now. There was _no_ way that Anya and Marcus would even be able to spend a few quiet moments with each other. They were always surrounded by Gears and Anya usually spent her nights in the CIC building. Yet, there was nothing wrong with being completely sure of something.

Besides, he knew that Marcus usually stuck to the rules, unless if his moral compass overrode the order. But why wasn't his moral code doing so in this situation? He was still with Anya while sleeping behind her back with him. Wasn't it natural to ask pertaining to this certain situation?

"Do you want to pick up where we left off?" His voice flowed in his ears once more, filled with wanton lust. It nearly always broke down Baird's defenses, although he wouldn't _ever_ let Marcus know that. He wondered, as he slowly approached Marcus with a growing sexual appetite, if Anya ever _listened_ to Marcus' voice. If she did, she would, more than likely, be giving him what Baird was so willing to.

He settled a hand on each of the muscular shoulders as he watched Marcus unzip his pants. Maybe it was stupid of him for not coming with his armor, ammo, and gun, especially if there was a disturbance in the town. How would he defend himself?

Baird didn't care though. He wouldn't forget next time. He just wanted to focus on the here and now, watching Marcus slowly pull down his boxers and hearing his excited breaths-were they his or Marcus'?-as his cock jumped out of the restraining underwear, smacking his nose.

He shivered and tightened his grip as Marcus licked the underside of his cock. Baird didn't want to ruin the moment with small talk, but fear was creeping up inside of him again.

"You've ever done this before?" He was nearly breathless, his cock dripping with pre-cum already. It ran down Marcus' chin.

"No." He breathed on the tip of his cock that rested on his lips, a large hand grabbing hold of it. His eyes looked up at him with a bit of amusement.

"You can tell me to stop." Marcus added softly, parting his mouth a bit. He lightly grabbed his foreskin between his teeth, teasing him by pulling it towards him. Baird felt himself go weak at the knees.

There were a couple of benefits from this. He would have _fucked_ Marcus in a way. And he would be much closer to him since they were about to share a new experience with each other, dimming Anya's allure.

The only drawback was how much he was going to enjoy it. He didn't like how he wanted to blow Marcus or liked it whenever the man seemed to be enjoying his ass. He wanted things to go back as it was before: meaningless sex.

If only it could...

"No." He finally forced out, his mouth dry. He couldn't speak anymore if he wanted to. Marcus just grunted, lips slightly turned up, before he opened his mouth and the head of Baird's cock slipped in.

Baird's eyes flew wide as his cock came into contact with Marcus' warm moist mouth. He gripped him harder as he felt his tongue lick the slit of his head. His lips...his lips were so frigging tight around his cock. So soft yet firm...just how he liked it.

A rough hand reached into Baird's pants and was cupping an ass cheek of his as Marcus began to slowly stroke his cock, gently sucking on it.

Something was missing. As he looked at Marcus with eyes craving what was to come, he slowly realized it. But he couldn't form the words. What he was feeling was overcoming his rationality. He watched as Marcus slowly took in more of Baird's cock until he had reached the hilt.

 _Never done this before my ass_. He thought, feeling the warm breaths on his cock and his tongue lavishing it with love. How was Marcus able to swallow him fully? He couldn't have gotten over the gag reflex that easily. It took quite a few tries for that to happen, supposedly.

Baird's thoughts floated to what he was feeling. Marcus was wetting his cock deliciously as it was slipping in and out of his mouth. The fact that he could deep throat him almost made Baird blow his load. He heard Marcus' quiet moans as he beat Baird off while stuffing his cock into his mouth. He had never heard Marcus moan before...

He looked down, liking the way his cock was moving to and fro in Marcus' mouth. Baird watched as he took his hand from Baird's ass to reach beneath his towel and begin to jerk himself slowly, still swallowing him whole. Marcus' eyes were closed as gave Baird's cock a long over-due loving.

Without realizing what he was doing, Baird had grabbed a hold of either side of Marcus' face and thrust his cock into his mouth at a quick pace.

Both men were panting hard, unable to logically think while they existed in their pleasure. Baird began to feel his cock growing in anticipation and he pictured how it would look like if he came all over Marcus: his tongue full of his cum, some dribbling down his chin.

And if he swallowed...oh fuck. What man didn't want their partner to swallow their cum? It meant that the person loved it and enjoyed it as much as he had.

His thoughts were getting to be too much for him as his body, flushed with pleasure, began to tense. He _wanted_ to shoot his cum to the back of Marcus' throat. But not yet. It was way too soon. And he was enjoying this _too_ much to slip up in a moment of unbridled passion.

And what if...what if Baird was to taste _him_?

Without warning, he pulled out of Marcus, stepping back a few steps, gasping for breath and realizing that he had been holding it. The thought of Baird swallowing Marcus' cum nearly made him cover the other man's mouth with his special fluid. If he hadn't stopped, who _knows_ what would have happened?

Cold eyes stared at Baird as he stared down at the beastly man. He looked pissed that Baird had unexpectedly taken away what he was so obviously enjoying, his eyes nearly slits and his lips were frowning heavily.

Marcus would just have to get over it. Besides, Baird had to do something that would ensure that Marcus wouldn't think he would _always_ have the upper hand. Either way, if their relationship ever got out, both would look bad and not only one as he would have liked it to be. This is what Baird told himself while trying to push away the truth: that he really wanted to do what he was about to anyway.

Without a word, Baird kneeled between his legs, eyes still on Marcus. His breathing was ragged but under control. He watched Marcus' eyes slightly widened as he realized what Baird was going to do. The frown slowly fell away into a thin line.

He slowly untied the white towel to reveal the large pink beef in front of him, begging to be devoured. His mouth was wet with anticipation. He wanted it, needed to taste it, just to satisfy his inane curiosity. It was obvious that Marcus wanted him to as well since his cock jumped a bit while his eyes were refilling with lust.

First thing's first though.

"Take off the bandana." He said quietly, pushing his legs wider, eyes still on the large cock in front of him.

Marcus allowed him to, but grunted, "And how does that bother you?" Baird didn't know if Marcus was speaking of the bandana or his legs being opened as if Baird was about to enter him. He took his chances.

"I'm not going to blow the Sergeant that I really hate being around."

"You'd be blowing me anyway."

"You look less like a Locust when you have it off." It was a joke said with a slight jeer, but he knew it would get to him.

Of course it did. A mean snarl played on Marcus' lips as he slipped his bandana off, revealing the wave of black hair beneath it.

Hell yeah. That's what Baird wanted. That menacing look that told him that the guy was going to treat him roughly and who wasn't the bastard Sergeant. He wanted more.

"Yeah..." He sighed, slipping a hand between him to stroke himself. His eyes set on the huge head of cock before him as he slowly ran his hand along the shaft.

In seconds, it would be in his mouth...

He felt fingers go through his blond locks as his lips parted slowly. He didn't know what it was going to taste like, how it was going to feel, if he was going to like it—and if he didn't, he would damn sure stop.

He tried to control his breathing as he thought of allowing Marcus to enter him, still slowly beating him off. Closing his eyes, he tried to repress the disgusted feelings that were coming up within him. _What_ was he doing? He was about to blow his Sergeant, the man that was praised more for doing exactly what Baird did: fight. If he broke away now, he could still hold that Marcus had blown him and he hadn't blown him...even if they were both men.

 _What good would that do?_ He thought. _Since he's been fucking me._

A bit hesitant, he opened his mouth and allowed the cock to enter. His eyes fluttered closed as what he felt now only made him harder.

Marcus' hot and swollen cock rested on his tongue. He could feel it pulsing and growing harder in his mouth. It didn't have a particular taste to it as he closed his lips around it. Slowly swabbing the cock with his tongue, he realized that he tasted a bit of soap from the shower that Marcus had just taken. It should have disgusted him, but it only made him want more.

He gently moved his head up and down the cock, stroking it firmly as he did the same for himself. He was enjoying this...and he knew it was a bad thing. Marcus' pleasured sighs weren't helping as well. Nor were his gentle tugs on his hair as Baird tried to take more of him in.

"Don't get greedy." His voice was laden with bliss as he guided Baird's head on his cock.

Baird ignored him as he took in a bit more, careful not to hit his uvula. He'd never had a need to conquer his gag reflex until now. How Marcus seemed to already have done it made him wary.

He _had_ to have performed fellatio before.

He picked up his pace, quickly sucking only half of the cock. He wouldn't be able to fit it all in him. _In due time..._

In due time! What the hell was he thinking? His thoughts were speeding through his head as he moaned while having his mouth full of Marcus. Was he expecting to be allowed to do this _every_ time they met up?

It was damn good, that was for sure. And how Marcus blew him was better than any he'd ever had. But he couldn't risk it. His feelings would be too vulnerable and he'd be left wide open to hurt. He couldn't allow this to happen again.

Yet he should enjoy it as it was happening. And fuck was he.

He was loving the taste of the cock in his mouth. A jolt of electricity ran through him as he was running tongue across the head. Droplets of precum wet his tongue. It tasted bitter and a bit salty. Yet, he liked it.

Pulling the cock out of his mouth and continuing to stroke it, he began to caress Marcus' balls with his tongue. Sucking them in his mouth, flicking his tongue over them, he looked up at Marcus with entranced eyes.

The view was spectacular. Marcus hadn't shaved yet so the rough whiskers from his 5 o'clock shadow brought out his jaw. His blue dark eyes usually void of any emotion was full of desire. His shallow breaths told Baird that he was near the edge.

He had to stop. He was on the edge as well.

He let go of Marcus' cock as he slowly stood. Marcus stared him, questioning.

Baird didn't know what he was doing. He had no control of his body as he slowly pulled off his shirt and pulled down his pants. Marcus' eyes were traveling over his body all the while, his chest slightly rising as Baird sat himself on his lap.

The caveman caught on quickly as he laid down, allowing Baird to hover over him. He allowed his hands to timidly travel over his legs and up his belly to his hard pink nipples. Holding each with a forefinger and thumb, he began to gently pull on them. Baird gritted his teeth. He didn't want to give away too much too soon.

That was plenty of women's problem.

Resting himself on his forearms, he began to tenderly slide their cocks against each other. His face was inches above Marcus', who slid his hands to cup both cheeks of Baird's ass tightly.

They were both panting hard. Marcus' breaths were on his cheeks as Baird kept his eyes focused on the precum that the both of them were releasing on each other. He couldn't look at his Sergeant now. He'd cum if he did.

His fingers crept forward to find the soft black hair and held onto it as he quickened his pace. His hips were grinding against the older man's in ecstasy. Soft moans began to escape him without meaning to and he could have sworn that he heard Marcus doing the same.

He felt Marcus put his arm around his waist to bring him closer.

He felt their nipples rubbing furiously against each other.

He felt one of Marcus' hands close around both of their cocks and begin to pump them furiously.

He finally turned his eyes to the man below him and couldn't tear his eyes away. Marcus' shocking blue eyes were brimming with plenty of emotions, one being a heated passion. He had never seen him display those eyes at all and could feel himself slipping into his vulnerable state: his body flushed pink, his face revealing a state of euphoria.

The feelings that each wanted to express and the hidden secrets that both wanted to share was evident within their eyes. He tried to stop himself from feeling it, but it was like trying to deter a bull that already had it's eyes set on something: impossible.

He couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop himself from groaning in pleasure. He couldn't stop himself from feeling the swirl of emotions within him. He couldn't stop himself from pulsing like crazy in Marcus' hot palm.

Marcus cried out as Baird arched his back, cum bursting from them in heavy spurts. He was shaking as he continuous spilled himself over Marcus' hand, his fingers tightly holding his hair, both bodies convulsing as they tried to empty themselves. Baird then collapsed onto Marcus, making him to grunt with the added weight as Baird rested his forehead on the bed.

Heavy gasps were all that could be heard in the room as both men tried to regain their composure. Slowly, Baird relaxed his fingers and pulled them away from Marcus' hair.

Fuck. What was going to happen now? It wasn't supposed to be like this. _This_ was what he was trying to avoid.

He could feel both of their hearts beating in sync as Marcus removed his hand from between them. Baird could now feel both cocks pressing together, sticky and wet, softening. He felt his hand go from his ass to rest on the small of his back.

He clenched his teeth together. He didn't want to look, but he had to. Baird would know how to act if he saw _something_ on the other man's face. Slowly turning his head, his lips brushed against Marcus' and their blue eyes stared into each others.

Baird paled. No expression. There was nothing. His face was as calm and natural as his usual self. What could Baird do with that?

But his heart...his heart was hammering. Could it be just because it took a lot for the old man to get it up? Or did it betray what he was feeling?

Didn't frigging matter now since Baird had given himself-and his thoughts-away.

Baird rolled off of him to sit up. Marcus wiped the cum from his belly with the towel that was beneath him, handing it to Baird when he was finished without looking at him. Baird took the towel and wiped himself. They both then began to get dressed.

This was all done in silence...an awkward, embarrassing, _long_ one.

Baird headed towards the door. He threw a look over his shoulder after his hand rested on the knob. He felt Marcus' body pressed against his and he saw the older man looking down at him. His heart started to beat faster as he felt his hand cover his on the knob. He didn't want him to _stay,_ did he? Grimacing, he moved his hand from under Marcus' which allowed Marcus to do what he was going to do: turn the knob and open the door.

Baird fucking hated this. He didn't like feeling like something cheap and tossed out. Although he did the same with women, they _knew_ what they were getting into when they got into his bed.

With Marcus, it was always a toss up. Baird had no frigging clue what to expect. They weren't even following the rules that both had agreed to. They were being casually dismissed although Baird needed them to be if he was going to make Marcus forget about Anya.

But Marcus, the stickler to the rules, happened to be easily going with the changes. _Too_ easily. If it were anything else, he would either disagree and do what he thought was right or agree with hesitation.

He had done neither of those.

As Baird exited the room, he turned back to Marcus opening his mouth, about to say something. To try and relieve the tension. To make sure that what just happened was soon forgotten. To tell him that they're relationship wouldn't be affected in anyway. Yet, when his eyes fell on the man, he closed it.

There was nothing that he could say. Nothing that _they_ could say. Their eyes connected once more, unspoken somethings filling the silence now: filling with everything they wanted to say.

Finally, Baird turned away and headed to his room, feeling sick. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. He didn't mean for it to come to this. He only wanted Anya out of the picture, but he didn't want to make it terribly awkward for Marcus and him as well.

One thing was known though. He had succeeded in getting what he wanted.

Marcus was definitely no longer interested in Anya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa. They both just had a real passionate tryst and now things can be more awkward between the two of them. At least Baird had succeeded in getting Marcus to be interested more in him than Anya.
> 
> *The Admiralty House was the base for ALL of the COG command on Vectes.
> 
> *Prescott's data disc was stolen from Prescott by Colonel Victor Hoffman when they were on the island of Vectes (Coalition's End). Baird, being the superior mechanical engineer, was given the disc so that he could crack it but was unable to because there was another disc (the one that Richard Prescott gave Marcus before he died in Gears of War 3) that was the key to opening it.
> 
> *Baird, in the novel, slipped up by almost telling Anya about the disc. Granny (Bernadette Mataki/Bernie) warned him to keep his mouth shut. Everyone knew about it except Anya (she was finally let in on the secret). This is what Marcus was referring to when he meant "loose lips".
> 
> *"Blondie" is Bernie's nickname for Baird.
> 
> *Bernie used to skin and eat cats to keep alive before she rejoined the Gears after Emergence Day. So Baird's nickname for her was "Cat Lady".
> 
> I believe that these are the only unclear parts that people might wonder about in this chapter. I also believe there are mistakes made in it so feel free to point them out. And please review!


	4. A Viscious Spiral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baird believes he has successfully lessened the bond between Marcus and Anya. Is he right? I hope you enjoy! :)

Or so he thought.

It hadn't taken him long to realize that, once again, he was wrong.

He had been busy making prosthetic legs for Donneld Mathieson with some of the Gorasni: men that he was forced to become allies with and who he had developed a close friendship. Stepping outside of the small tent, he was breathing in fresh air when he saw both Marcus and Anya walking away from the camp.

The Gorasni camp was a long way to be from the center of Pelruan, and there was no reason why Marcus _or_ Anya would be speaking to the leader of the Indie nation: Miran Trescu. So why were they here? Why did they seem to appear wherever he was when all he wanted to do was avoid them altogether?

It grated his nerves.

Anya was rarely let out of CIC, but due to the constant losses of COG soldiers, she was forced to learn how to become one herself. Any able bodied man _and_ woman who wasn't fertile were now expected to fight for humanity. Something Baird completely disagreed with.

Even though she was let out of CIC now, she was still stationed relatively close to it whenever she was to do her duties. But how she was even allowed off base to traverse the landscape ridden with Stranded gunmen and a new possible threat-the emergence of large tree-like structures that everyone were calling _stalks—_ was beyond him. Didn't they need her to supervise the evacuations of the people still living aboard the ships, food and water rations, bedding and housing— _something_ other than Marcus?

He slowly relaxed his jaw as he realized that it had been clenched. Slowly rubbing it since it was sore, he became wary that someone had come out of the tent behind him.

"Blondie-Baird!" Yanik Laas, a Gorasni friend of Baird's, slapped his shoulder hard while smiling into his face. "What are you doing? We have to finish the legs for your friend, yes?" His brown hair rustled in the wind as he petted his moustache.

Baird scoffed, turning to face Yanik. "I don't know him so you can't call us friends, now can you?" His eyes were still trained in the distance, where Anya and Marcus had disappeared.

"What are you looking at, eh?" Yanik sidestepped him to peer in the direction that he was.

Although Yanik and Baird were friends, they were still enemies by way of the nations that they served. So trust was never truly complete betwixt the two and never would be.

It wasn't as if Baird could allow Yanik to be privy to such sensitive information about him: Yanik was the kind of man that was loyal but would use what you said against you if you turned on him.

Baird just shook his head. "Nothing. I have to go do my rounds anyway, Yanik. I'll catch you later."

"Oh. You must do your COG duties?" Yanik called after Baird as he raised a hand in farewell to his Indie friend while walking away. "Well, let us Gorasni clean up another COG mess."

"Yeah yeah." He called behind him, heading north away from the camp to go to Pelruan.

Alone with his thoughts, Baird was now able to get to the core of what was eating him.

While it was true that the first person that Baird cared about was himself, it was inevitable for him not to develop feelings of attachment and compassion for other people...especially since he was _forced_ to work alongside them.

The situation with Marcus and Anya was none of his business...in most ways. If the both of them were too stupid and stubborn to finally settle down with each other and decided to stick to the rules which wouldn't _ever_ provide them a future, then that was their problem.

But there was something that he couldn't touch upon, he thought, as he entered the simple village of Pelruan where Gears were building hasty temporary shelters. It had nothing—well, almost nothing—to do with the health risks that both were exposing themselves to. It had more to do with the feelings that were creeping up within him as he thought of his Sergeant.

He didn't like what he was feeling lately. Every thought of Marcus used to be a severe distaste for the man. But now….he was becoming more tolerable and the thoughts had a softer tone to them. The lines that he had drawn between the glorified war hero and the man that he was fucking were becoming blurred now, something that he had feared would happen since he had taken the course of action to try and rid Marcus of Anya.

He decided to put aside the troubling feelings that were within him for later as he caught sight of Cole working on a shelter with Sam, the two of them laughing. Putting on his best smirking face, he headed over to his buddy, lightly patting his large shoulder to get his attention.

"Alright, Cole. Let's go. We have our rounds to do and I want to be the first in line for chow."

Baird completely ignored Sam whose countenance had gone from jovial to sour at the sight of him. It made his smirk grow. Cole, though, bared his bright teeth at him in a large smile.

"Baird baby," he said. "I promised to help build homes and they need Cole Train's help. How about you take Sam? She's nearly done helping me."

"Uh, Cole? I said that I needed to do my rounds. Not a suicide mission."

"That's it Baird!" Sam burst out, making a few heads turn in their general direction to see what the commotion was. Baird turned to stare into her angry face, his face not having twitched from his glaring sneer. "I'm sick of you treating me like shit. If you have something that you want to say, you can say it!"

"You mean I should _tell_ you that you're a class-less bitch?" He spoke, eyes widening in mock surprise.

Sam let out a cry of frustration as she stepped towards him at which Cole stepped between the two, blocking them from each other with his huge body. He stared down at Baird as a mother would stare at a child sometimes: with disapproval. "Now Baird, that wasn't right-" He began.

"What?" He threw his hands up as if he were surrendering. "She _told_ me to tell her what my problem with her was. Besides, everyone knows that she'd rather go on patrol with Dom. And I'd rather swallow a bottle of pills."

"He's a much better man than you." Sam spat to him.

"All cocks work the same." Baird leered. "You're just pissed that his isn't jumping at you."

"And you would know _all_ about how cocks work, wouldn't you Baird?" she retorted. "And _not_ because you have one."

She then stalked off towards another shelter, one where Dom was working at.

Baird could hear Cole expressing his dismay at his behavior but he wasn't listening. He suddenly felt sick. And it was all because of that bitch Sam.

It wasn't her words that made him feel uncomfortable. But her demeanor, her expression, her body language—it was as if she _knew_ what he and Marcus had been doing.

But that wasn't possible. It _couldn't_ be possible since both of them had taken extreme precautionary measures to not get caught—hadn't they?

They both were secretive. They both only met during late hours at night. They both took routes that were away from the patrol posts. They both continued their normal demeanor during the day. How could they have been seen?

Baird didn't know, but he visually paled. It was enough to make Cole begin to look concerned as his voice continued to try to break through Baird's thoughts.

"Baird?! You okay?" Cole was shaking one of his shoulders, finally succeeding to pull Baird from the contents of his mind.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine." He said, his voice low and unfocused as he pushed Cole's arm away. He began to head towards the maintenance bay to grab a vehicle to do their rounds.

He stopped short when Cole blocked his way again, staring down into his face, making Baird feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with you, Baird?" He asked again, his Lancer slung across his shoulder and both large fists settled on his hips.

"What are you, Cole? My mom?" Baird retorted. "I said I was fine!"

He shook his head. "No. You haven't been fine for awhile. And I know this." Cole watched Baird shift uncomfortably and didn't move a muscle. "It's fine by me. I'll wait. We have all day. And Hoffman can have our asses when we don't report back to him in time."

Baird stared at his buddy. This was one of a few times that he wished—sincerely wished—that Cole was as moronic as most of the people residing on Sera. Or at least ignorant to the changing moods of his friends.

What could he say to him? What could he possibly divulge to his friend that wouldn't cause any kind of disruption?

That he was tired of being a mistress for Marcus?

That he was sick of seeing Marcus and Anya together?

That he was in love with Marcus—?

Baird's eyes widened and his mouth slacked open. _No._

His skin tone paled even more as his former thoughts came rushing back to him. _No. No it can't be. It can't!_

He _wasn't_ in love with Marcus. He just loved his cock, that was all. Right? He nodded to himself ferociously as Cole looked on with growing concern.

He couldn't be in love with the Sergeant that he detested when he had once been a Lieutenant, forced to follow orders from someone that wasn't as qualified as he.

It was just sex. Nothing more. Although his time fucking him was beginning to get considerably less due to the stalk invasions and Anya following him around like a puppy dog.

But why, even as he told himself what he believed to be the truth, was his stomach churning in knots? Because it wasn't _actually_ true and he was trying to deny the inevitable feelings hiding within him?

He snapped out of his mild psychosis to face a worried Cole who was calling his name and beckoning to others behind him.

"Baird?! What's wrong, buddy? You as pale as a ghost."

It took a lot of effort for Baird to produce the next words. "I'm fine, Cole."

"I don't think so, Baird." A voice that he wasn't expecting to hear was near him and Anya came into his field of vision. Wherever she was...

 _Oh. Fuck_.

"Cole's right." She continued. "You're very pale."

"Okay!" He finally gave in, feeling sicker than he was. He just wanted to get away from the feral blue eyes that were quietly watching him. "I have an upset stomach or something. I'll go check in with Hayman."

As he stalked off, he grabbed a shoulder of Cole's and led him a bit away from Marcus and Anya, then turned to face him. "Hey. Could you—you know— _not_ invite people to know my private business?"

"Baby," Cole said quietly, a frown apparent on his face. "We're your friends. We're going to look out for you."

"Yeah. Right. A Lieutenant I barely know and a Sergeant that I hate. Friends. Anyway, just—just next time, can you _not_ emasculate me like that?"

Cole gave a loud laugh which definitely caught the attention of Marcus and Anya, who were standing a little away watching the interaction between the two of them.

"Aw, that's cute. Baird baby's pride is a bit hurt." He then nodded with a flash of his big teeth. "I got it. Next time, I won't make such a public fuss."

"That's all I can ask and hope for." He nodded then started to head to the docks in front of the Admiralty House. It housed the ships where many of Jacinto's Remnant still lived and was the primary headquarters of the infamous Doctor Isabel Hayman.

He was turning back to call a farewell to Cole when he saw that he was already engrossed in conversation with Marcus and Anya. Of course, Anya was doing the talking. But Marcus—his eyes were focused completely upon Baird.

And the look he gave him chilled him.

* * *

Baird woke up after the sun had set, feeling the gentle waves of the ocean rock him softly. He had entered the make-shift infirmary to meet the disgruntled old surgeon with a made-up list of ailments, never revealing what the true one was. He _knew_ he was in the infirmary due to a lone candle being lit somewhere in the room.

He was about to close his eyes and shift his body on the worn out mattress when he heard voices. He was blocked from view since the sickly green hospital screen was pulled (and he was sure that the sheet didn't help anyone with gastric problems get any healthier). He carefully moved to his side without the bed creaking and strained to hear the voices.

"...extreme dehydration... possible food poisoning...should be better when he awakens...his stubborn ass to drink some fluids." That was Doc Hayman, as blunt and unfriendly as ever.

He tried to hear the other voice, but they spoke so low that he couldn't even determine if it was a man or a woman.

"Oh really?" It seemed that Doc Hayman's interest was piqued. "...blood tests to do...medicinal shortages...see how it progresses..."

 _What is she talking about?_ He thought. He could no longer gain any useful snippets of the conversation due to nothing else being said. The door opened once more and closed.

He counted to a hundred before he threw his legs over the bed and drew back the hospital curtain.

Doctor Hayman looked over at him with a scowl. "You're awake." She said, shuffling over to him. "Now, if you're done eavesdropping, get your ass out of here and report back to Hoffman."

Baird didn't even question how she knew that he had been eavesdropping. "Who was that?"

She turned her beady eyes onto him which told him that he was annoying her. "Someone that cares a great deal about you. Isn't that obvious?"

What was obvious to Baird was that she was evading the question. She wasn't going to tell him who it was, perhaps to save Baird the embarrassment of having known who had come to check up on him. Or perhaps to save the person the embarrassment _of_ checking up on him.

"What were you talking about?" He inquired further.

"You."

"You're not supposed to give out my private information unless if it's to family members or people that I authorize."

She stared at him as if he were a buffoon. "Please tell me if you have any relatives still living so I may notify them." She snapped. "But, until then, I would say that your comrades are your family. Now, get out of my sight before I give you a _true_ reason to be here."

Baird couldn't keep from smirking as he exited the infirmary and then the ship. He was wondering who it was that inquired about him. Doctor Hayman had said comrade so that would have meant that it was someone that he worked with.

Was it Hoffman? He wanted to see Baird. Probably to wonder what had happened to him. But would he make a trip for him to see him?

Baird shook his head. More than likely not. He wasn't Marcus, Hoffman's pet.

Was it Sam? The woman would come to gloat at anything that made Baird miserable and this was an opportune chance. Yet, she probably wouldn't pass up drinking and playing "chess" at the bar. Probably not though. The person seemed to be genuinely worried.

Was it Cole? It had to be him. There was no one else that would truly have his back like him. It was odd how Cole's voice hadn't vibrated as it usually did in the tiny room. He didn't know his friend could actually whisper.

Sated at the fact that he knew who the mystery person was who had inquired about him, Baird was heading towards the Admiralty House when he was suddenly washed in light and a loud rumbling filled his ears.

A Packhorse pulled up next to him. He hadn't even noticed a vehicle in the immediate area. But it didn't matter. It would save him a nauseating trip to go see Hoffman. Trying to keep a smile at bay, Baird pulled himself onto the passenger's seat by holding onto the outside rail.

"Right on cue— " Baird began, looking over to the driver's seat. His smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Hey! Where's Cole?"

Marcus was peering at him through the darkness, whatever he was feeling was unreadable. He grunted before he spoke. "He's about to start his rounds. That's where we're going." He started the Packhorse and began to head to the outskirts of Pelruan.

"Well, I need to go see Hoffman. I was told that he wanted to chat about something. Probably about the disc."

"After rounds." Marcus growled. Baird knew that there was some meaning within it, but he couldn't tell what it was. "You have to report to him about them anyway."

 _Damn._ Baird thought, now in a sullen mood. All of his efforts of avoiding Marcus until he sorted out his feelings were put to waste.

They rode in an uncomfortable silence until they reached the corn field that marked the outside of the village. Marcus put a finger to his comm radio and said, "Dom? Cole? Where are you?"

Dom's voice floated over the radio. "Two klicks southwest of you. We see you, so don't run us over."

Marcus turned in the direction and slowed down when he saw the two men come into view. Baird didn't even wait for Marcus to park before he jumped down.

Dom shook his head. "Didn't you learn that you're not supposed to _jump_ from a moving vehicle?"

"Don't do it if some Locust are shooting at it to rupture the gas tank."

"I'd rather have some cover than no-cover."

"I'd rather not be barbecued."

"And I'd rather not be a sitting duck." Marcus headed into the light of the Packhorse where the three of them stood, holding two Lancers. His eyes moved to each of them but he lingered on Baird's for a few seconds. "Let's get moving before that happens by some Stranded gunmen."

Baird sighed before he turned to Cole.

"You feeling better?" His friend asked.

"Much." Baird said sourly. "Now, let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover in a few hours."

"Actually, Cole and I are going back to base and patrol there." Baird stared at Dom, who was holding his Lancer casually. "I had to take your shift earlier which means you and Marcus are going to patrol out here."

Baird almost let his mouth drop open. He'd be _stuck_ with Marcus for this shift? Like hell!

"Hey! No one asked you to volunteer!"

"Aww. You're going to miss your only friend _that_ much?" Dom cooed as Cole guffawed. "I'll take good care of him."

Cole gave Baird a hard slap on the back which made him stumble a bit. "Don't worry. We'll be back to pick you two up." At that, both Dom and Cole headed to the Packhorse talking.

Baird watched in disbelief as they reversed and drove towards New Jacinto, which was what Pelruan was slowly becoming.

He closed his eyes then, inhaled deeply, and let it go slowly. There was nothing to do but to get it over with. Turning to Marcus, he was about to speak when he saw his eyes in the bright light that the moon shed over them.

They were dark...and somewhat angry. It was nothing new, since that was what Baird expected Marcus to be constantly. But...he sensed that the anger was directed towards _him_. And for what, Baird didn't know.

The words were out of his mouth before he could reel them in. "What?" His voice was challenging. "What did I do now?"

The frown that Marcus wore deepened and his eyes narrowed. Such was the face of this grub killer: menacing. Baird turned away from them and made a show of nonchalance. "Wait, don't tell me. I don't care."

He turned away from Pelruan and said with a heavy sigh, "Let's just get this over with."

Baird began to walk and it took him a few seconds to realize that he wasn't being followed. He turned back to see Marcus standing very still and watching him.

Shaking his head, Baird bent forward and pointed to his side. "Would _you_ like to go ahead, Madame?"

He watched Marcus not move for a few seconds, then slowly progress towards him as he stood, upright. He then shoved a Lancer into his arms with a glare and baring a bit of teeth, before heading off.

Yeah. He was definitely pissed.

The two of them then began to do the patrol which was painstakingly long. They were forced to take note of any animal or human tracks, new stalks that had erupted and how close they were to the village, any signs of recent Stranded activity such as recent fires and human excrement—anything that could aid the COG.

They were nearing the end of the search when Baird recognized a stalk that hadn't been there an hour before. He walked up to it. It was definitely fairly new, since it didn't look like dead rotting tree bark like the older ones.

Marcus came up behind him as he sat on his haunches, digging at the soil around the stalk with the Lancer's chainsaw.

"You done?" His voice was gruff. There was an emotion within it that Baird couldn't place. But he didn't have time to decipher this asshole.

"What? You have a date to go to?" He scoffed, continuing his digging. "Aren't you the asshole that likes to stick by the rules and all that shit?"

"And since when have you cared?" Baird paused and looked up at Marcus. That question had double meaning: it could have been about the older man personally or it could have been about the rules. Baird decided to play safe and stick with the latter.

"Well, seeing as you're so far up the asses of the Officers, I guess it wouldn't do to give a half-assed report to Hoffman."

Marcus bared his teeth in a foul snarl. It made Baird unsteady, but he was going to stand his ground. "And since when _haven't_ you half-assed your reports?"

That question made Baird slowly stand, leaving his Lancer on the ground. He faced Marcus fully, searching his eyes for some clue at what he meant.

"I've _never_ bullshitted a report, Ser _gean_ t." He pronounced every syllable of Marcus' title slowly.

"There are times when you and Cole haven't reported a damn thing."

"That's because there's _nothing_ to report! That happens, you know!"

Baird's eyes widened. He recognized the look in Marcus' eyes now.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to hit something to let loose his frustration.

He wanted to get rid of whatever was bothering him.

And Baird could guess that it was the guilt of cheating on Anya that was getting to him.

"Oh. I see now. You're pissed." Baird was in his face, a cruel smile growing. He watched Marcus slightly tilt his head, his expression telling Baird to back the fuck off before he couldn't finish what he was about to start. "But whose fault is that, _hero_?"

Marcus' eyes widened a bit. Baird had hit a nerve that was raw with Marcus. The man _hated_ being called a hero. He didn't believe he deserved the title. Baird wholeheartedly agreed.

He watched the older man's face transform into something mean and ghastly: his scar seeming to come alive with vibrating pulses as his muscles moved beneath his face. His teeth were clenched and his eyes said that Baird was going to be in a world of hurt if he didn't shut the fuck up.

But that was Baird: he loved to push people to the edge. And to make them jump.

Without any explanation, he unclipped his ammo belt and took off his chest armor. "You have a problem with me?" He said quietly, tossing them both to the side. He watched as Marcus began to do the same to his, while he took of his gloves "Let's deal with it then. I'm sick of your passive-aggressive tantrums."

Marcus snorted, throwing his gloves on the ground. He approached Baird until he had him pinned against the stalk. "You're not ready for me, Baird."

Their foreheads were touching as Baird began to speak. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Cold blue eyes were staring at each other. Neither spoke yet their harrowed breathing slowed down to easy breaths. As their bodies began to relax, he began to slip into the state that he tried to resist.

Baird began to see less of the immortal Sergeant with a moral code that would put a woman wearing a chastity belt to shame and more of his lover that had invaded his nether regions as he continued to gaze upon his face. He saw the wild beast in Marcus' eyes begin to tame as well, being replaced with a much softer and sensual look. He didn't want to wonder if he used these same bedroom eyes to woo Anya. All he knew was that he had to look away or he'd be swept away...

As he did, he felt a strong hand force him to turn back. The warmth of Marcus' palm on his cheek made his eyes flutter close.

Fuck...he was losing the battle within himself...it was beginning to be much too hard to resist him…

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that his own hand had went to touch Marcus' face, his thumb slowly going over the deep scar on his right cheek.

Marcus' face was erased of all emotion...except one that seemed to be full of some type of pain and sorrow. Was it a want that he couldn't have?

He couldn't think anymore as he lost himself within his eyes. He waited as Marcus tilted his head slightly, moving closer to him as Baird let his arm drift around his broad shoulders and his other hand slowly remove the bandana, letting it fall to the ground.

He felt Marcus snake an arm around his waist and pull him closer to his body while his free hand firmly held his back.

Baird's cock was hard and pulsing against his uniform-issued pants and he could feel that Marcus was the same way. He was still a bit timid though. He didn't want to lose control with him like he had thought he did before.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when Marcus closed his mouth over it.

It was the first time he had tasted a man's mouth and it sent shivers throughout his body.

He felt Marcus' mercilessly shove his tongue into his mouth. His tongue…his tongue was so warm and moist. Both twirled about the other, caressing each other in the display of tough affection.

Their hips slowly ground against each other as his five o'clock shadow scraped against Baird's smooth skin.

It danced around Baird's, enthralling him. He pushed against Marcus in an effort to have the older man his tongue even deeper within him. And he obliged.

It was aggressive, rough. It showed Baird that Marcus was in control. It told him that Marcus would be able to force Baird to do what he wanted. All it did was turn Baird on more since he loved to be taken by the larger man, not the Sergeant.

He pulled Marcus closer to him, adding pressure onto his neck, as Marcus slowly backed him into the stalk. He was working at freeing Baird's cock from his boxers as he stuck his other hand within his pants and began to cup and rub his ass.

Baird threw both arms about Marcus' neck, squeezing him to him as he moaned into his mouth. Marcus was now slowly jerking him off, a hand pressed hard against the back of Baird's neck to keep them close.

Baird let a hand drift between them and let his fingers graze Marcus' crotch. The beast was anxiously waiting to be freed. He fumbled with the zipper, too lost in the moment to truly focus but wanting to feel the swollen meat in his hands.

Baird was the first to pull away, completely breathless. He shivered as Marcus moved his mouth to the base of his neck and began to tease him there. He couldn't stifle a groan as he bit him and began to gently suck the skin.

Marcus removed his hand from Baird's ass to help him free his cock from the confines of his pants. He began to lick the nape of Baird's neck to ease the pleasurable pain of where he had been bit, when his cock fell onto Baird's eager palm.

Feeling the cock in his hand excited Baird so much that he began to leak onto Marcus' palm. He blushed ferociously as he heard Marcus grunt in amusement, a hint of a smile on his face as he planted his lips upon Baird's once more. Baird parted his lips slightly to allow Marcus to invade him once more. He began to beat Marcus off slowly at first, then quickened the pace to match Marcus.

He wasn't the only one moaning now. He could hear Marcus' quiet ones mixed in with his. He opened his eyes a bit to see that he was flushed a pretty pink and looking as if he was extremely enjoying what Baird had to offer.

That made his heart leap and Baird to let out a soft cry that he didn't know he had within him.

He felt the immediate effect that the cry had on Marcus. He seemed to tense and become a bit rigid. Marcus pulled away this time and looked at Baird through eyes that Baird had never seen before placing his cheek against his.

Baird could feel the scar rubbing against him and Marcus' restrained growls of affection. He felt the tips of his lips brush his ear more than a couple of times as he slid his arm around his waist.

He put his arm about Marcus' neck again, letting his fingers run through his hair all the while. Before long, he couldn't take it anymore…

Marcus watched as Baird pushed away from him. A few seconds went by with the two of them breathing heavily, cocks stiff and upright, and eyes lidded with ecstasy before Baird turned around, pushed his pants down to let them fall to his ankles.

He leaned against the tree and gave Marcus a look full of pure lust. "Just...stick it in." was all he said, his body flushed with embarrassment.

Marcus barely hesitated before he approached Baird. Slowly, he spread his round cheeks apart until he was able to see the waiting pink hole, clenching and unclenching.

"What are you doing?" Baird seethed, reaching between his legs and jerking himself off. Although he was eagerly awaiting Marcus to invade him, he didn't like whatever he was doing now. It was quite embarrassing, as if he wasn't clean. What they were doing _wasn't_ clean. "Appreciating the view?"

"You're not ready." He said it so matter-of-factly, as if he were describing the weather. "You'll get hurt if you aren't prepared. And you'll be sore."

"So what?!" He whispered loudly, a bit of fear beginning to grow within him. "And what are you going to do to prepare me?" He shouldn't have asked. At that moment, he felt something wet and warm caressing his hole.

He watched as Marcus let a stream of spit fall from his mouth. It hit Baird just above the crack of his ass before sliding down slowly. Marcus let it reach the open hole before pushing the head of his cock against it.

He was right. It hurt like a motherfucker since his cock wasn't lubed properly. But Baird liked the pain so much that he was already dripping some of his cum onto the stalk. Damn, he was a masochist.

He watched Marcus slather his cock with some white stuff—Baird's pre-cum—before trying to push into him any further.

Baird rested his forehead on the stalk, not able to stop from crying out in a twisted mix of pain and pleasure whenever Marcus moved inside of him.

"Shut the hell up, Baird." Marcus muttered, his lips close to his ear. "Or we're going to get caught."

His eyes widened and Baird snapped back to his old self, the lust gone.

That was it. Baird was nothing more than a pawn used to satisfy Marcus' sexual appetites. And here Baird thought that _he_ was going to be playing mind games on _him_.

The man was selfish, only caring about himself while stomping on a lot of other people along the way. He and Baird were different in that aspect: Baird made sure that he didn't have any people that cared about him to stomp on.

He suddenly wanted Marcus out of him. He was about to tell Marcus to fuck off when their comm radios crackled to life next to them.

"Yo, Marcus? Baird? Where the hell are y'all?" Cole's voice greeted them just as Baird saw a set of two lights coming across the field towards them at high speed.

"You two haven't checked in. Is anything wrong?" Dom spoke.

"Shit." Marcus said, drawing it out for emphasis, pulling his cock out of Baird.

Baird gritted his teeth from the searing pain that erupted. By the end of their escapades he wasn't going to have an asshole left. Leaning against the stalk, waiting for the pain to ebb before he pulled up his pants, Baird saw that the two only had a few seconds before Cole and Dom found them.

Quickly, Baird pulled up his trousers, stuffing his hard cock in his pants. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Marcus was going at a leisurely pace, having already zipped up his pants and clipped on his ammo belt.

The man could get dressed fast, that's for sure.

Baird fumbled with his ammo belt as the lights of a vehicle began to head towards their position. He heard Marcus through the radio now.

"We're fine. Just head straight. We see you."

Baird looked at him as if he were insane, while trying to put on his chest piece, surprised that he was retying his bandana and nearly finished putting on his gear. At the speed the Packhorse was coming, they would be caught having done something iffy for sure.

"What took you guys so long?" Dom asked as Baird's comm radio slipped from his hand to the ground in his haste to clip it on.

"We found a new stalk." Marcus said, his face clear of any emotion, cool eyes watching Baird. He seemed amused.

That bastard.

The light of the Packhorse showered the two of them with light just as Baird was adjusting the headset to his ear.

That was close. He was glad that no one was able to hear the thundering in his chest as the Packhorse parked. Dom and Cole got off of the vehicle and headed towards Marcus and Baird.

Cole looked between the two of them and then settled on Baird. "You okay, Baird? Don't tell me you're coming down with something else?"

Baird's skin was flushed red as he regulated his breathing, focusing on Cole. He hoped that no one would see his large hard-on pushing against his pants or the fact that he was walking a bit stiffly. "I'm fine." He said grouchily. "It's just so damn hot. We should report back though."

Cole narrowed his eyes. "That bruise on your neck, were you bit by something?"

Fuck.

Baird rolled his eyes, glad that Dom was focused on the stalk. "No. It happened during the visit to Doc Hayman. And I don't want to talk about it. Now, we should _really_ be going— "

"No, Baird. That bruise wasn't there before—" Cole began.

"—And _this_ definitely wasn't here before." Dom interrupted, lifting his head to the sky as he neared the stalk. He reached it and then bent down to get a closer look. "Hey? Is it oozing white pus or something?"

Baird tried not to get his eyes to widen as he realized what Dom was pointing at. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand and was attentive to the fact that Marcus had come closer to see what was interesting, but said nothing.

He gave Marcus a quick sideways glance to see that he was also looking at him. His face was odd though. He didn't look angry or exasperated. He looked...as if he didn't care. And that he wasn't going to help Baird with the mess that he obviously made.

 _Yeah, I get it, asshole!_ He sent the message through his eyes. _If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have to be dealing with this!_

"Don't touch it!" Baird said, stretching out his hand as Dom moved a bit closer. "You don't know what it is. It could be anything. And it was there when we found it."

"Should we take a sample?" Dom said, picking up Baird's Lancer to hand it to him. Baird could see that Marcus had his Lancer cradled in his arms. When had he picked it up? "You know that Prescott wants them and there's a lot of it. Is that what you were going to do?" He motioned to the stalk.

Baird gave an annoyed look, raising his Lancer so that it blocked the view of Marcus' kiss mark. "Yeah, I was. Then again, it wouldn't be smart to chainsaw a stalk in the middle of the night in Stranded territory, now would it?"

"Then why did you take so long to report in, asswipe? Besides, you could scrape some off."

"Into what, genius?"

"Aren't you the self-proclaimed one? Figure it out. We should get a sample back to CIC though."

Baird gritted his teeth. He didn't have an answer for that one, although he _was_ a genius.

Marcus sighed which would mean nothing to Dom or Cole, but meant something to Baird: He was calling him a dumbass.

"Does it matter, Dom?" Marcus said. "We're wasting time reporting back to Hoffman and can easily be picked off since the two of you left the _goddamn lights on_. We can get a sample later. The damn thing's not going anywhere."

"Sorry!" Dom said as he headed towards the Packhorse. "I just don't know why Baird is so pissy."

"I'm _not_ pissy!" Baird retorted as he watched Cole head towards the passenger's seat.

"Cool it." Marcus growled lowly as he passed him. Reluctantly, Baird made his feet move to follow him.

But not before he quickly scraped off the cum on the stalk with the sole of his boot.

* * *

Stepping out of the shower, Baird felt refreshed. He reeked of carbolic soap but he was relaxed and ready to sleep. It took awhile for his cock to settle whenever they had arrived in Pelruan, but Hoffman's bitching had tamed him.

Towel around his waist, he was about to head towards his dresser when he heard a knock on his door. Annoyed at the fact that someone was bothering him so late at night, he placed a scowl on his face and quickly opened the door.

He was expecting the person to do a double-take on his appearance and leave him alone. But _he_ ended up being the one self-conscious of how he looked when he recognized who the visitor was.

Marcus stood before him, slowly unclenching and clenching his fists, since he was lost with what to do with his hands without his Lancer. His eyes told a different story though. They weren't lost at all. In fact, they knew exactly what they wanted. And as they traveled slowly down Baird's body then up to meet his eyes, Baird knew what it was.

Baird _thought_ he knew what he wanted, but he just wasn't sure anymore. He knew that he wanted Marcus to freely fuck him whenever they wanted to. Yet with so many complications, he wasn't sure if the trouble was worth it.

He _didn't_ know what he was going to do if he let Marcus go though. Masturbating wouldn't be enough and he'd get himself into a hell of a lot of trouble if he went soliciting his ass everywhere, which he didn't want to do anyway.

And this had nothing to do with fucking someone anymore. It had all to do with being _fucked_. That's what Baird truly wanted: someone aggressive that would make _him_ do things and make _him_ feel good instead of the other way around. Now that he's found it, would he really give it up? He was sure he wouldn't, which would mean that he would have to continue giving up his remaining self-respect to please Marcus and wait until the end of it that was sure to come.

No other person would do even _if_ the two parted ways. Marcus was the toughest guy about and Baird was sure that he would never be sexually satisfied anymore if Marcus called it quits.

No doubt about it. He was in deep shit.

There was more to it as well, but what, he didn't know. His plan was no longer about getting in between Anya and Marcus. That wouldn't ever happen as it was painfully obvious. But what was also clear was the fact that Marcus was still active in their secret relationship, that he hadn't tired of Baird yet, even after nearly a year of messing around. It wasn't indefinite, but Marcus would have shown signs that he was tiring of Baird if he wanted to get out of it. Which meant—what exactly?

And what _did_ Baird want? What he had with Marcus wasn't enough.

It wasn't that he wanted to be known. He didn't want people to recognize the two of them as anything more than what they were: mutual male lovers.

He also didn't want to be doted over. That was what Anya wanted and it would rub him raw if it ever happened to him.

But he also didn't want to look as if he was _the other person_. He was tired of being second to Anya's wants and needs. Marcus seemed to cater to all of her whims and she to his except for the physical part: so he comes to Baird to get his fucking fill.

Baird _hated_ feeling used and that was the issue. But what he wanted wasn't clear at all.

He came out of his thoughts to see Marcus still staring at him, patiently. That virtue rarely wavered within that man. His expression was as it always was: expressionless. But Baird could tell that something had changed within him.

The kiss that they had shared had come to a surprise to them both. It was an extremely intimate act that broke another rule that they had both agreed not to do. Did it mean that they were getting closer? Or was Marcus just confusing Baird's weak emotions to get what he wanted: sexual relief?

What was even odder was that _Marcus_ had initiated it. When Anya spoke of the two, it was always the fact that _she_ had began the caressing and touching—Marcus was too embarrassed to express his emotions due to it never being done at home. So why wasn't it the same when Marcus kissed Baird? It _had_ to be because Marcus was using him.

And this thought process was a vicious cycle. Baird would be influenced by Marcus' pheromones with the thoughts that perhaps Marcus gave a shit about him a little—just a little—since it was apparent that Baird did for him, at least concerning the sex. Then when they finished doing the deed, Baird would feel like a cheap whore due to Marcus' cold and unnatural indifference towards him when they had just finished another of their passionate trysts. _He_ was the one that made people feel that way, not vice versa.

Yet there was nothing that Baird could do to resist the man at this point though. He had already fallen from his height of self-respect when he had gotten involved with him in the beginning, placating his fears by finding a number of excuses that he accepted. It wasn't as if he ever truly _believed_ the excuses, but they made him feel better.

Now, they were doing nothing but making him feel worse about his feelings with Marcus. And try as he might, he couldn't deny Marcus his body to keep whatever little self-respect he still had. His defenses were weakening, he was becoming distraught, and when they finally did the irreversible action which Baird secretly wanted to do, he would have none left.

This was how Baird had treated women before and it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

He began to get angry at the thought when his mind suddenly became a blank. All thoughts had flooded away, as they always did, when Marcus touched him at all lately. At that moment, he had placed a firm hand on Baird's left thigh.

 _Fuck_. Baird wished he hadn't shivered at his touch. It gave away to Marcus how much he enjoyed it. He avoided his eyes and wished that when he blushed, his whole body didn't as well.

He was frozen when Marcus untied the towel from his waist and let it slip off from his body. They were on _base_ and Marcus wasn't worried about someone passing by to see him doing what he was doing?

Baird quickly cast a glance at the older man and realized that Marcus' body blocked the whole entrance. That's why he wasn't worried.

"I didn't say you could come in." Baird tried to save face as he looked into Marcus' face, pinkened cheeks, painfully excited eyes, and stiff cock.

All Marcus did was let out a small huff of air—it could have been a laugh—before he gently touched his lips against Baird.

Try as hard as he did to resist, Baird fell again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. So much detail about the conflicting feelings going on within Baird. It's tough not knowing what you want.
> 
> *Donneld Mathieson was a Lieutenant who, during active duty, had to have his legs amputated and now works for CIC.
> 
> *Miran Trescu leads the Gorasni nation.
> 
> *Baird has some traditional ideals, one being that women shouldn't be allowed in the infantry.
> 
> *Yanik Laas became a dear friend of Baird's for the time that they had spent together.
> 
> *Baird used to be a Lieutenant but had been demoted due to "treason"...Gears of War Judgment.
> 
> *Doctor Isabel Hayman is an older physician that is known for her surliness and medical expertise.
> 
> *The "chess" that Sam plays is actually checkers using shot glasses. They call it "chess" but, due to the fact that the game pieces are virtually unknown, Baird realizes how stupid the game is.
> 
> *Prescott wanted samples so that he could have the scientists that lived on Azura (including Adam Fenix) test it. Another tidbit that people may not know: Bardry Salaman, the man who committed suicide 190 days after the Hammer of Dawn Counterattack was alive during the time (until the Locust overran Azura in GOW3).
> 
> I believe that these should be the only "new" things that have come up in this chapter. I hope you'll read the next one! ^_^


	5. Exposed Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baird realizes that he's in an endless cycle and spiraling out of control because of Marcus. So what's he going to do?

The silence was deafening.

Nothing seemed to move outside of Baird's room. The crickets weren't even chirping. It usually meant that there were grubs incoming if they were inland. Now, Baird was sure that they were listening in on his thoughts somehow.

He wouldn't have normally noticed how quiet it was if he didn't have this man next to him. It was uncomfortable.

Baird laid still, staring up at the ceiling of his small room as the behemoth slept. Marcus hadn't ever spent the night at Baird's and had only done it once during his continuous courtship with Anya. But he was forced to stay in his room for the night.

The reason?

After the sex, Marcus had gotten dressed as he did and Baird ignored him like usual, spouting off at the mouth to tell him to get the hell out. Marcus only grunted and had continued to get dressed in silence.

Baird was feeling like he had been recently: used. He had watched Marcus button his trousers and pull on his shirt, feeling dirty and having a little less self-respect for himself than before. Yet no sooner had Marcus opened the door when he immediately shut it again.

Baird had looked towards him with somewhat curious eyes. "What?" He had asked curtly, wondering what he had seen.

Marcus' fingers were still on the knob, but they seemed to be gripping it. He was staring down at them, his body frozen.

Baird had thought he hadn't heard him and was going to tell him to immobilize himself due to a sudden dose of stupidity elsewhere when he spoke.

It was so quiet and almost regretfully said. "Anya."

Now they both lay on an old mattress that couldn't truly do justice for two large men. And Anya was on patrol for the whole night.

Just Baird's luck.

He drifted out of his thoughts when he realized all he heard was the soft whirring of the ceiling fan. He couldn't hear hallowed breaths that normally meant someone was sleeping...

He tried to turn on his side and ended up hitting something, making Marcus growl in the darkness.

"You could get on the floor you know." He said without apologizing. "Since it's all your fault."

It was true. Every bit of it was. If Marcus hadn't come over, Baird would be sleeping now instead of lying awake in misery.

If Marcus hadn't treated Baird as if he was just something to be used so that he could fulfill his desires, Baird wouldn't be feeling a whirlwind of emotions.

If Marcus hadn't reacted to Baird's sensitive penis in the shower at Jacinto, none of this would have happened.

And Baird was now regretting every bit of it.

He was tired of hiding and sneaking around Anya. He was sick of only being at Marcus' beck and call when he couldn't get the man to comply if Baird needed a quickie. And he was done with feeling all of the feelings that weren't even supposed to _exist_ in a purely sexual relationship.

He was glad that Marcus didn't take the insulting bait. Marcus just shifted on his back and Baird pressed himself towards the wall to keep from touching him. It was embarrassing. He was still naked with Marcus' cum on him. He didn't want to feel any more disgusted with himself and hoped that Marcus forgot that he was naked.

Those feelings—the embarrassment, the shame, the pain—made him decide that he was officially done with the relationship.

It was over. No matter what Baird tried to do in order to curb Marcus' affection, _he_ was the one that was falling. He wasn't able to get between Marcus and Anya. He wasn't able to refrain from catching feelings and wanting him. And soon, he would be unable to get away from Marcus if he didn't end this relationship.

It was caustic. It was dangerous. And it was inevitable. He needed to get out.

* * *

Baird hadn't slept well the night before and he looked it. He stared at himself in the mirror that was visible behind the bar. He couldn't even recognize the man with dark circles and a tired look on his face. Who was he? Why was it so hard to remember how he was pre-Marcus?

He didn't even remember when he had fallen asleep. But he did remember that when he had awakened, Marcus had still been beside him. The man usually had nightmares and they usually woke people. How was he able to keep them under control for the night? He had been sleeping soundly when Baird had looked upon him.

He shook his head to relieve himself from the miserable thoughts that the night brought upon him.

He wanted to be over Marcus.

He _needed_ to be over Marcus. Badly.

And he needed to reclaim his sanity. He needed to not give a fuck. But first he needed a drink.

Baird looked over towards the waitress who was busy with another Gear. The inevitable wait forced him to take notice of the thoughts that were pushing to the forefront of his mind.

The truth was Baird wanted to keep fucking him, he really did. But not at the cost of him foolishly falling for a man that would never return his feelings. Not at the cost of him being extremely hurt. And he was glad that things were put into perspective to him last night when he realized that his feelings wouldn't ever be returned.

Baird knew what he wanted now when he hadn't before. He wanted to be left alone. Because feeling for others hurt way too much, especially when the feelings weren't being reciprocated.

He couldn't ask Marcus, the man who devoted fifteen years of his life to a woman, to suddenly become his and his alone.

He couldn't ask him to keep screwing him either, since it would only be harder for Baird to let him go.

He wanted to cut his losses and return to the cynical arrogant asshole that everyone knew him for, instead of the lovestruck sap that he was becoming.

And yes, he admitted it. He was in love with Marcus. It became evident when he saw the man standing in shame, holding the knob, not being able to go out due to the fact that his woman was outside of the door.

It frightened him as well as hurt him deeply, to see the man he was in love with pine after someone that wasn't him and to realize that he felt the way he did. He was never going to get Marcus to feel the same way about him, so why would he keep entertaining him in hopes that he would?

Baird clenched his jaw hard to keep from letting out any noise. His heart felt as if it was physically ripping. If he drew breath, he knew it would come out as an anguished sigh. His stomach was telling him that he was going to vomit...

A bottle of whiskey was set down in front of him, giving him a jolt. The pretty blonde barmaid smiled down at him. He'd been in here so many times the past few months that she already knew what he wanted. "Anything else?" She asked as always.

He forced a smile to the barmaid. He had never remembered her name even though he _had_ fixed her cooling system for her.

"Not at the moment, no." He said and she headed off to take care of another order, but not before giving him another warm smile. Eyes following her, an idea began to seep into his thoughts.

Maybe...maybe a night off was what he needed. Maybe he needed to satisfy himself with a woman to get rid of all of the thoughts that had been running in his head about Marcus. If it hadn't have been for the lack of women, Baird wouldn't have considered men.

Besides, some women could dominate a man. And since he's been in the bar plenty of times, she probably thought that he was somewhat interested in her. Not a lie, but not the complete truth either. So maybe...maybe he'd get over Marcus.

The more pulls he took from the beer, the more confidence he had that his idea was full proof. He even let her catch him staring at her a few times at which she smiled and winked.

He was in for sure.

Baird was beginning his third one when someone sat down next to him.

"Some things never change." He let out a snort of disgust as Sam tried to get the attention of the barmaid.

"Yeah." He sighed. "You're still annoying."

Baird had been glad to be drinking at the bar alone. He was beginning to gather his old self that he had lost. So much of his dignity had been swept away when he had began to secretly sleep with Marcus. But it couldn't be done with Sam bothering him.

"And you're a thirty-five year old baby."

"Thirty- _four_."

"You didn't deny it."

"I don't have time to help you raise your I.Q. Damn near impossible anyway." He looked at her out of the corner of her eyes as she graciously thanked the tavern hostess and sipped at her mug of dark liquor.

She pushed a bowl of nuts his way. "Eat."

He scrunched his nose. "Do you _know_ how many people dip their dirty fingers in there? How much bacteria—"

"You need to eat something. Marcus wouldn't quite like it if you got sick again." He perked up at the mention of Marcus. "Nor Hoffman either." she seemed to add, as if it was an afterthought.

Baird was wary whenever Sam talked about Marcus. Ever since she had made the "cock" comment, he didn't completely trust her with any information about him. But it could just be his constant paranoia.

"What's your point?" He said, his teeth slightly clenched together.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "No need to get pissy with me." She snapped. "I was told that Marcus was looking for you. He had something for you to look at. He should be at the Admiralty House. Ungrateful arse." She finished, before picking up her mug and heading towards a table.

He watched her in the mirror. Why wouldn't Marcus come find him himself? It wasn't like him to send someone else with a burden that he could easily undertake. And what did he need for Baird to check? He _had_ the disc from Hoffman that he hadn't cracked yet. What else could it be?

Unless...unless if he wanted to do a quickie? As soon as the thought entered him, his stomach began to flutter. And his heart immediately sank with the realization that he couldn't deny any longer.

His thoughts about the man gave away how he truly felt. No matter if he banged the barmaid, he knew that he wouldn't be able to forget about him. Which left only one thing to do...

* * *

Dusk had washed over Pelruan as Baird waited for Marcus in his room. He wondered what he wanted with him.

He had went to the Admiralty House, but Marcus was on patrol at the time. By the time he would have returned, Baird would have had to be on patrol.

So he decided to wait for him in his room after he finished his rounds with Cole. Fortunately, Cole wasn't as observant at Baird's distressed state.

To access his Sergeant's room without anyone seeing was a hard feat for Baird to achieve. People were constantly in the halls and it was obvious that he didn't belong there. The genius machine guru lounging about in an area of the barracks? How odd.

He had to make up lies about looking for Perry and his stolen mechanical trinkets. When it was clear, he simply slipped inside. He was surprised that Marcus hadn't locked his door. The man was usually more careful. Then again, what would be worth of value to take from a grunt in the COG forces?

Baird then settled himself onto the bed, the Lancer leaned against the dresser, and waited for the beast to make it into his room, wanting to ask him what the hell that he wanted.

It wasn't long before his eyes flicked over to the door when he heard sounds outside of it. The knob turned and a large man illuminated the doorway.

His cerulean blue eyes seemed to flicker with surprise when he saw Baird, his fingers seeming to tighten on the handle of the Lancer. "What the hell are you doing here?" His voice hinted that he was pissed off.

"I was _told_ that I was to meet you."

" _In my_ _fucking_ _room_?"

Baird stood quickly. " _Hey!_ I didn't _want_ to come see your ass, alright!" He let out angrily. "If you're worried about if anyone fucking saw me, they _didn't_!"

Marcus threw the door behind him with a loud slam. He stepped to Baird, a few inches taller so that he had to look down at him. His eyes flickered with animosity as it stared into Baird's sky blues.

"I could have _shot_ you." He said through gritted teeth. Baird could see, in his peripherals, Marcus holding his Lancer.

He hadn't thought about that. Yet, there was no need for the man to be so hostile with him.

"I was _told_ that you wanted to see me." Baird had to look away as he felt his body begin to turn pink. "I need to talk to you anyway." He said changing the subject.

He waited a few minutes and realized that Marcus wasn't going to move. He was waiting... Baird closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm done." he said as Marcus took off his armor and gloves, setting his gun against the wall.

The words lingered on the air for awhile it seemed. He didn't know if Marcus was expecting an explanation from Baird. He didn't know if Marcus' silence meant that he accepted what Baird had said. He didn't even know if Marcus had even heard him. He was becoming confused. But everything was confusing when it involved Marcus.

"What?" Baird stopped looking at his gloves to look into the man's eyes once more.

His voice, ever so soft, deep and timbre, barely reached Baird's ears. There was no emotion. No want of elaboration of his words. Just a simple confirmation, to Baird, that Marcus wanted Baird to clarify what he had said.

Surprised at how calm his voice was when his was filled with a turbulence of feelings that he was trying hard to suppress, Baird said, "I think we should stop...stop _this_. Whatever _this_ is."

He was planning on saying more but the words stuck in his throat. And if he forced them out, he knew that all of his feelings would come rushing out.

He couldn't reveal this to Marcus. It would embarrass them both. And he wouldn't be able to work with the man then. Which would mean no more Cole. He wasn't even sure if he could work with him now.

Baird's eyes stayed on Marcus as he went over to his bed and sat down upon it. He set his gun against the night table and began to take off his boots.

"I kind of guessed." was all he said.

Baird's mouth slackened as a dumbfounded expression crossed his face. What did he mean he had _guessed_? Baird had done nothing that would have even made anyone think that it would have been _him_ ending their relationship. He had always been anxious, awaiting the day when Marcus would profess to have too much guilt from cheating that he couldn't continue.

Or for the man to stop visiting him as he had before.

His thoughts were still reeling when Marcus looked up at him. They stared at each other for a few moments before he said nonchalantly, "You're still here?"

Something broke within Baird. He suddenly found himself bent over Marcus, inches from his face.

"I'm _not_ fucking finished!" He said loudly. "Don't dismiss me!"

Marcus didn't blink. "Watch who you're fucking talking to." He slowly said with a growl and a hint of malice. "What do you want? One last fuck?"

Baird didn't move his eyes away from Marcus' this time. He was agitated that the man could read him so easily and too proud to admit it, but that's what he wanted. One last fuck, no holds barred, and then to part ways forever. His fists clenched as he held his ground before the beastly man.

"That's what you want." It wasn't a question. And Baird didn't give him an answer. He didn't say anything or respond in any way until he felt those hard lips press against his.

Baird could feel himself reverting back to how he was with Marcus: wanting to be enjoyed by him, enjoy him, and be near him. Nothing else. It was a high for him, even though the low-the inevitable end that would bring the feelings that Marcus had used him once again-would be hard on him.

"That's what you want." He repeated, lips brushing against Baird. His tone was a bit softer which made Baird respond with a slight nod, eyes revealing his hunger for Marcus' swollen flesh.

As soon as Baird's lips parted, he felt Marcus force his tongue inside causing an involuntary moan to leave him. He pushed himself against him in reaction to it. He felt an arm around his waist pulling him closer as Marcus laid on the bed.

Baird laid on top of him, beginning to slowly move his body against him. He could faintly hear their ammo belts klink together. He was more focused on both of their hardening cocks and Marcus sucking the breath out of his body, his tongue roughly twirling about Baird's own.

Something was different about Marcus. That much Baird knew as the older man began to loosen the belt, unzip his pants, and pull out Baird's cock, throwing the belt on the floor. He was a bit more aggressive than before.

Baird sat up, trying to catch his breath, as Marcus slowly pulled at his cock, watching him. Baird said nothing as he pulled off his gloves and shirt, throwing it aside, remembering that this man was the man that he hated but loved all the same. The same Sergeant that he hated paying attention to, but the lover he never wanted to give up.

Marcus let go of his cock which let Baird play with it while he took of his own shirt. Baird had to make sure to take a good look since he wouldn't be able to soon.

He loved his pecs. They were riddled with hair that seemed to get a little thicker as his happy trail led beneath the trousers that Baird was loosening. Baird tossed the belt behind him and then put his fingers around Marcus' hot swollen cock.

Fuck. This man...he was already oozing...

Baird placed both cocks in one hand and began to stroke them both, his body heating up. He swiped a finger to catch some of Marcus' dribble and, with only a momentary hesitation thinking about the risk, began to lick his finger.

His eyes slightly widened. It was bitter. And a little salty. But...it wasn't _bad_. It was something that he could get used to...but he wouldn't ever get that chance.

He looked down at Marcus who was staring up at him. The same expression on his face that seemed to show that he felt nothing. His eyes were the secret. And they looked feral...

Marcus put his hands on Baird's waist. His hands traveled south to grab the cheeks of his ass and then push down his trousers. Baird leaned over him, stroking them both faster as he managed to kick off his pants. He raised himself to his knees so Marcus could do the same.

Marcus then gently pulled away from him so that he could lie at the head of the bed, which surprised Baird. Marcus wasn't ever gentle nor would he ever go from extremely aggressive to soft in a quick manner.

His eyes seemed to drink in Baird's hairless form, as if he hadn't ever saw him before, and his uncut cock that was hard as a rock. It made him blush with slight embarrassment.

He looked over Marcus' perfect body, from his beefy arms, hairy chest and the happy trail that led down to his plump member that was waiting to invade him. And oh how _badly_ did Baird want it.

But what did he want? Certainly, he didn't want Baird to fuck him? Right? A shockwave of excitement shot through him. That would be a treat for ending their relationship. Anya wouldn't be able to say that she'd done that.

"What are you waiting for?" Marcus whispered, still staring at him.

"I-I don't know." He confessed.

Was that a smile that played on his lips? "Are you a woman? Would you like me to tell you what to do?"

The asshole always did know how to push his buttons. With a scowl and his heart beating uncontrollably, he approached Marcus. He watched him spread his legs. Best not to assume...

He carefully swung a leg over Marcus' head, knees settled on either side of his head. He was facing the door and as he chanced a glance at it, it made him realize that he wouldn't ever see it again.

It was going to be their last fuck. He wanted to make sure that _he_ enjoyed it. And what Baird would enjoy now would be to suck off Marcus while the man was doing the same to him. There was no need to be modest. Baird wanted to be _fucked,_ not doing the _fucking_.

He brought his mouth over the hot thick head of Marcus' cock, immediately flicking his tongue against it. He hadn't tasted it in so long that he was eagerly bobbing his head on it. As he began to put more of Marcus in his mouth, he could feel Marcus swallowing his cock whole.

Baird didn't want to admit it, but he _had_ been practicing. Whenever he came upon an item like a banana or cucumber, he'd take it to try and overcome his gag reflex in private. But he could only still swallow half of Marcus.

It didn't matter though. This was going to be the last time he'd do this.

He could feel his cock going down Marcus' throat as Marcus filled his whole mouth. The man hadn't gagged once and was blowing him like a pro. It made Baird envious and a bit unsettled. He wanted to be able to hold all of Marcus in his mouth, but he couldn't. How Marcus was able to do it made his heart twinge.

Baird knew he wasn't the first man that Marcus had fucked. The man had stated it in Jacinto. How many men did he have to blow to perfect his technique?

He swirled his tongue around Marcus' shaft as his cock moved from Marcus' mouth, dripping pre-cum onto his chin. He was firmly stroking the cock and moaning pleasurably when he felt the oddest tingle near his bumhole, his hairs being tickled.

He ignored it, since if felt good, licking up and down Marcus's shaft, but it didn't take him long to realize what it was.

"Hey!" Baird yelped, the cock falling from his mouth as he looked behind him. He tried to pull away but Marcus had a hard grip on his ass and hips. Baird couldn't see, but he could definitely feel Marcus' plunging his tongue inside of him.

It felt fucking good. His nerves were being stimulated and he wasn't able to think of the possible risk that Marcus could be getting himself into.

He didn't stifle his moans though. This was going to be the last time that they would be together, so he wanted to make it clear, no matter how it might embarrass Marcus, that he wasn't holding back.

Fuck did the man know how to make him feel good.

" _Ugh_." Marcus had suddenly turned Baird over, having him lie on his back. Baird didn't know what was happening until Marcus' face came into his view.

 _There is no reason to not do anything impulsive_ , Baird thought. _It's not as if we will be able to do it ever again._

With that thought, Baird opened his legs a bit wider. He grabbed Marcus' face with both hands and brought it closer to him. An amused sneer passed on his face as he watched a confused look fill Marcus' eye, his mouth slightly open. Baird lifted his head to meet Marcus' and gave him a passionate open-mouthed kiss.

He didn't expect anything in return. He didn't even want anything. But it made him spill a bit more when he felt Marcus' tongue cooperate with his. The thought that Marcus was kissing Baird after he had tasted his ass excited him.

Marcus put his body on Baird's, making him lie down without breaking the kiss, his body hair tickling Baird's bare body. Baird brought his knees up as he slowly put his arms around his neck, feeling Marcus lining up his cock with his pink hole, rubbing against it, sometimes prodding it.

When they both broke apart for breath, their eyes connected. Both of their eyes were still on each other when Marcus began to push his cock against his ass. Baird gasped as he felt the head of the cock slip past his tender ring and become swallowed by his body.

A loud moan escaped his lips as Marcus began to slowly pull himself out of him and then push himself in more. Baird's muscles were clamping down on Marcus' cock, which felt like it was barely able to fit inside of him.

A slow rhythm they both found, and as their bodies slowly ground against each other, arms embracing one another, kissing passionately, a feeling of happiness flooded through Baird and a rush of sorrow as well.

This _wasn't_ sex anymore to Baird. This was him making-love to Marcus. And all he wanted was to do it once so that he could savor the taste of Marcus. Anya wouldn't be the only one that would have experienced Marcus' tender loving.

He brought his legs up to Marcus' back, linking his ankles so that Marcus would be able to thrust deeper inside of him. He felt his something warm dripping inside of him which made him moan louder.

His eyes were filled with lust and ecstasy and he could see Marcus' was as well. His hard grunts made Baird reach a hand down to his cock and stroke himself. He wasn't going to make it to the end with Marcus acting like that.

" _Marcus._ "

Baird's mind was numb with pleasure that he hadn't realized what had slipped out from his mouth. He was in an erotic daze, his eyes closed, biting his lower lip. He curled his fingers into the sheets and began to beat himself harder as he felt Marcus' forceful thrusts, jamming his cock hard into Baird.

Now he could hear a voice in his ear. He heard other sounds as well but he couldn't make them out. All that mattered was the soft voice in his ear...

He couldn't even figure out the words at first. He just kept repeating Marcus' names in a mantra, feeling the pressure building inside of him, wanting release. Soon, all that he could do was scream when Marcus found a particular sweet spot and began to piston him mercilessly.

" _Oh...Damon..._ "

He had to only hear it once and that was enough. With a loud cry, Baird came in a fury of streams. The creamy fluid spilled all over his hand and his stomach, which Marcus was furiously rubbing against.

The older man hadn't let up. He was still pounding his cock against Baird's ass. Baird gripped Marcus' forearms tightly, feeling his somewhat stiff cock coming alive again. He heard Marcus saying his name, but all he could do now was grit his teeth and let moans escape from him.

He soon felt Marcus' cock begin to pulse with the pressure of his want of cumming. The familiar fear rushed through Baird, the fear that if Marcus was able to release inside of him, it would be the end of Baird's self-respect.

He opened his mouth, still determined to keep what little he had left, when he chanced a look at Marcus' face.

His face was flushed pink, his lips slightly apart, teeth gritted, but it was his eyes that caught Baird. They were ever so soft and impassioned, nothing within them that hinted at the man that was his Sergeant, even with him wearing his bandana.

Baird reached up to try and pull off the bandana, but Marcus caught his finger, still wet with his cum, in his mouth. Baird moved his finger inside of him, watching Marcus suck it slowly, eyes closed. Baird withdrew his finger and inserted another one, watching Marcus looking at him through lidded eyes.

He then slowly moved his fingers across the scar on cheek and up to his hair. He slid the bandana from his head and realized that it didn't have the same effect that it had before. His lover was the same with or without the bandana. He may have looked a little less of a menacing badass without it, but he was still the same.

Baird slowly put his arms about his shoulders. Inches from his face and not caring of the possible repercussions, he said through gritted teeth, "Don't...don't pull out..."

Marcus rested his forehead against his, saying nothing before putting his mouth over Baird's again. Baird didn't mind tasting his own cum on Marcus' tongue. It made the moment more intimate. More special.

He felt Marcus put his arms around his waist as he deepened the kiss, Baird tightening his grip around him, knowing what was coming.

Slowly, Marcus pulled Baird onto his lap, making sure to never miss a thrust, holding Baird firmly before giving one final hard thrust as deep as he could. He growled into the deep kiss that Baird and he were locked into as he came.

Baird dug his nails into Marcus' shoulders as he felt thick wet sticky fluid begin to shoot inside. He had to throw back his head and yelp when he felt Marcus' warm spunk coat his walls deep inside of him. As much as Baird thought he'd hate it, he never wanted Marcus to stop. He wanted it to keep going forever.

It wasn't disgusting at all. It was warm, thick, and all of Marcus. Everything that was that man was inside of him now...and he couldn't have asked for more.

Baird clenched his muscles to keep Marcus and his cum inside of him. He didn't want to let any of it escape...or Marcus' cock. He wanted to stay that way...just for a little while.

He felt his cock being stroked and couldn't take any more of the insurmountable pleasure as he buried his face against Marcus' neck. He pushed himself against Marcus' hand, trying to get him to stroke him harder, riding his cock in the process.

Marcus whispered his name which entranced Baird, forcing him to call out his name. They both didn't hear it before it was too late, being too enthralled in the moment.

The voices down the hall. The quick turn of the knob. And the two men bursting in in a hurry.

"Marcus-" was all Dom got out before he stopped.

Baird's heart stilled and the color from his face drained as Marcus and he turned to face Cole and Dom who were staring at them slack-jawed.

No one moved. Everything was still. Cole's eyes slowly went to the ground, surveying the clothes on the floor, trying hard to avoid the two naked men. Dom was unable to turn away. Both seemed to be rooted to the ground.

"Cole?" It was only when the voice drifted down the hallway that Cole seemed to react. Anya.

"Uh..." Cole stuttered, wide-eyed. He quickly looked away, shaking his head a bit, before he said, "E-Excuse me." and headed out the door, shutting it.

Dom stood there still with a shocked expression, visually paled, as Marcus gave a heavy sigh, eyes closed, head turned away from them both. His grip on Baird's never relaxed and neither did Baird's around his neck. Marcus seemed to be holding him tighter. And Baird could see his tightened jaw through his peripheral vision.

He didn't know if Marcus was pissed or feeling extremely guilty. And it wasn't as if he didn't have any reason to be. He had to sleep over Baird's place last night because his woman was on patrol in his area. And now he was caught by the remaining two men of Delta Squad fucking the man that annoyed everyone instead of his woman.

Baird already had a bad reputation, but Marcus? This was a stain that would damper his heroics.

Dom finally moved, casting his eyes to the ground before taking a hard swallow. He then went to the door. He paused for a few seconds, but then exited without saying anything.

The sound of the door closing was enough for Baird. He got off of Marcus, grunting at the slight pain due to the thick cock exiting him in a rush. He didn't look at Marcus who had let Baird slip from his arms and now lie on his bed, eyes closed.

Baird dressed, his heart heavy, his ass hurting and feeling gooey due to the cum. He was nearly shaking due to what had just happened. He heard Marcus utter words and, without truly paying attention, asked in a defeated voice, "What?"

"I didn't need to see you."

Baird paused for a moment, stored the tidbit of information, and walked towards the door. "Good to know."

The hall was deserted, but it could have been filled with people and Baird wouldn't have noticed. He rested his body against the shut door, shocked beyond disbelief.

They had been caught. Now what were they to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Marcus and Baird are over! Done! Caput! And they've been caught doing the dirty. What's going to happen now?
> 
> Hope you liked it! ^_^


	6. The Mind Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the Marcus/Baird saga continues! We ended with Baird telling Marcus that he was finished, through, caput with their relationship...but he wanted to have one last screw before they were completely over. And it turned out to be love-making instead! On top of that, Dom and Cole burst in while they were finishing...embarrassing! All of what had occurred left Baird with tons of open-ended questions. Will he get his answers?

_**A few weeks later...** _

Baird had no idea about whether or not what he did was right. But he felt good about it.

He had requested a transfer _temporarily_ citing that they were running low on efficient engineers. He was planning on making the transfer permanent.

He couldn't face Cole and Dom, not after what they had seen. He hadn't had to face them since that night. But Marcus was a whole different story.

His actions towards Baird was similar to that of Jacinto: he didn't seem to acknowledge Baird's existence. It hurt but it was something that Baird would have to get used to. Thankfully, the emergence of the polyps from the stalks kept his mind away from Marcus most of the time.

He was sure that Marcus' behavior had to do with the transfer that Baird had gotten approved. What other reason could there be? Maybe he felt that it was a bad reflection of him as a superior.

Well, it was. Marcus shouldn't have made Baird fall in love with him. Now people may view him as the incompetent Sergeant that Baird always thought he was.

Baird didn't know if people would actually start seeing Marcus as such, but he _did_ know that whenever they seemed to catch eyes, Marcus' were always shimmering with anger. So it _had_ to have something to do with the transfer, he guessed.

He let out a frustrated grunt as he dropped his wrench in the engine of the Centaur for the fourth time that day. Voices barely drifted into his ears as a few men spoke loudly on the other side of the bay. He rarely wore earmuffs but he needed to concentrate on his thoughts while pretending to work.

He didn't think that the transfer would have affected Marcus _that_ much. It wasn't as if Baird _wasn't_ replaceable. There were a few engineers that were at Baird's level, although they weren't just as good or as fast as he was. It wasn't like his excuse for leaving wasn't warranted: the COG _did_ need more engineers fixing things than on the field battling and dying.

Besides that, it just wouldn't be the same for the four men ever again.

Baird was the person that farted in a room of people and snuck out for everyone else to deal with it: an uncaring asshole, it seemed. He had left Marcus to deal with both Cole and Dom alone which made him feel as if he deserved the title of self-serving douche. He usually was, but he didn't leave people out to hang by themselves.

He brought an arm across his forehead to wipe the sweat. And all of this started with Sam. Baird remembered what Marcus had told him, how he hadn't asked for him. If that was true, Sam had lied.

The thought angered Baird, making him set down his wrench and wipe his hands on a piece of cloth. The bitch had made herself scarce the past few weeks so he couldn't accurately question her. But he knew where she would be now. He knew where she was posted since he had seen her on his way to the maintenance bay, yet had been too infused with his thoughts to think of her then. What better time to interrogate her when he was frustrated and not able to work due to it?

Baird headed out into the harsh sunlight. The weather was cooling fast. Winter would be here soon.

Rubbing his arms as a frigid wind blew, Baird headed towards the large field that was just outside of Pelruan, the same place that he had watched Cole giving the Pelruan teenagers Thrashball lessons.

And there she was, standing at her post, watching the children play a little way away from her.

"Hey! Why did you lie?!" No introduction. No pleasantries. No explanation. He needed to be blunt. Rage was evident in his voice and he was sure that if Sam was a man, he would have punched her out.

She turned to him in surprise, her eyes revealing as such. "How rude! You don't approach someone and start accusing them of something!"

"Marcus _didn't_ want to see me. You said he had something for me to look at. He didn't "

"Look. Marcus told me—" she began, shrugging and turning back to the kids.

" _Bull_ shit." Baird interrupted, walking around to block her view. "You think Marcus would accept that half-assed excuse if I told him?"

Sam stared at him, quiet for a few moments, before a smile crept on her face. "Well, you're not talking to him. So it wouldn't really matter, now would it?"

Baird narrowed his eyes. "And how would _you_ know? I could easily tell him that you caused—" That's when he faltered. Baird couldn't tell her what she had done, because that would mean there would be one more person that knew. One more person that knew that they had been caught fucking...and that they _had_ been fucking.

"That I caused what?" She said, a laugh in her voice. "Your transfer? You did that all by yourself."

He scowled angrily at her. "Why did you _lie_?" he repeated. "There was no reason."

"I _didn't_ lie." Sam cradled the Lancer in her arms. "You did _look_ at something, right?"

He stared at her, then said slowly. "What?"

"You looked at something. But you getting caught in the act is hilarious."

Baird's heart rate quickened as did his breathing. His eyes slightly widened as he slowly said, "What act?"

"Don't play dense." Sam walked around him, turning her eyes onto the children again. "It's been obvious that Marcus and you have been fucking. And I could tell by what Anya told me about Cole's face when he exited the room, that he was in shock."

His mouth slightly dropped as her eyes turned towards him. He visibly paled as she flashed a smile at him. "You two weren't exactly hiding it now, were you? I mean, you two showing up at each other's rooms late at night, you always turning pink when he looks at you like a shy school girl, you rushing to keep away from him, you paying close attention to anything about him— _You_ practically gave the two of you away-"

"So what are you going to do?" He interrupted quietly. "Tell Anya? He wouldn't appreciate it, you know that?"

"I wouldn't have thought that you would have asked questions about him before yourself, Baird." Sam said after a short pause. "More or less, _care_."

Baird ignored her, his anger beginning to boil over. "Listen." He said through gritted teeth. "It's _none_ of your fucking business. The fact that you purposely _sent_ me on a goose chase so we would get caught is a low, even for you. He did _nothing_ to deserve it."

"For the last time, I _didn't lie_. He even thanked me."

Baird's eyes widened again. Her comment nearly struck him dumb. "What do you _mean_ he thanked you?!" He tried to keep his voice under control. "Why would he _thank_ you?"

Sam said nothing but pointed to her side with her elbow. He turned to see Marcus and Dom speaking to each other. Bernie walked up to the two and began to join in. Marcus seemed relaxed. So the two of them were on speaking terms?

"Marcus was the one that set this up—set _you_ up."

A feeling of dread grew inside of him as he heard her words. His head was reeling. _What_ was she saying?

"But why?!" He nearly cried out, now fearing the unknown. He didn't know what was happening.

"You'll have to ask him that." she shrugged and then moved towards the kids. She then added, calling back to him. "I'll consider your emotional turmoil as your apology that you never gave me. Oh. And the fact that you two have been doing the naughty. Nice gossip."

Baird stared at her open-mouthed before swallowing hard. What was he going to do? What was going _on_? As much as he wanted to force Sam to tell him more, he knew that she was no longer resourceful. So who else could he talk to about this?

Not Dom. That would be too awkward. Baird screwing his best friend? No. That wouldn't work. But who-?

 _Cole._ He thought. _I need to find Cole. He'll help me understand.  
_

* * *

When Baird caught sight of Cole working on a shelter near Pelruan's south edge, he immediately headed over. He didn't have time to be apprehensive or to think that possibly Cole wouldn't ever speak to him again due to what he saw. He just needed information and he knew Cole would have it. Being as impulsive as he was, Baird shook Cole's shoulder which caught his attention.

"How you feeling?" Cole said, gleaming his white teeth. No awkwardness. Only kindness. Just as he always was. It made Baird feel good and like shit at the same time.

"Confused, Cole. Very fucking confused."

"Tell me about it." Cole said, picking up a piece of wood for the siding of the house. "Everybody has something that seems to be bothering them more than usual. Even Marcus didn't look like himself."

Baird perked up at the statement. "What do you mean he doesn't look like himself?" He questioned, trying not to sound too interested, remembering what Sam had said. He began to help his buddy hold up a board. "He's either scowling or frowning. That's it."

"No. He looks bad. Like someone told him some bad news. Been like that the past few weeks."

Baird shrugged. "People die everyday, Cole. No one tells him to take that shit personally. Besides, Anya's probably consoling him right now."

Cole shook his head. "No one has died though."

"Well, Anya will make him come out of his funk. But I need to talk to you." Cole nodded at him which allowed Baird to continue. "What the _hell_ is going on?"

Cole stared at him after having nailed the board in. "What do you mean, baby? Are you okay?" He turned away from him to pick up some tools. "I mean, you _transferred_ without saying anything."

Baird could catch the hurt in Cole's voice. "You saw me... _fucking_ Marcus." He whispered. "I didn't want to make things awkward."

"As if us talking right now is awkward?" He questioned, making Baird blush in embarrassment. Cole shook his head. "Look, baby. You can sleep with men or women and I wouldn't care. But you're my friend, my buddy, an important piece of Delta squad. I wouldn't want you to transfer at all. You left me, man." His eyes showed Baird that he was serious.

"I'm sorry, Cole." he admitted. "I didn't really have time to react or think. I mean, you two burst in and scared the shit out of me!"

"We were scared too." He quietly laughed. "I saw more of you two then I _ever_ wanted to see."

"Yeah. Not so loud, 'kay?" His cheeks were beginning to burn more.

"Haha. Sorry, baby."

Baird let a grin drift across his face, but tried to disguise it as a sneer. "We cool?"

"Yeah. We cool." Cole nodded. "But Marcus explained everything to Dom and me. No need to worry."

Baird's skin grew cold and his hair began to stand on end as he reached for another piece of board on the ground to hand Cole. "Explained everything? What's _everything_?"

"That you two were over after...that." Cole skirted around the word "sex". He positioned the board so he could start to nail with Baird's help. Speaking over the din of the hammer, he said "So it really isn't a big deal. There's no problem."

Baird shook his head, his paranoia creeping up on him. Marcus set the whole situation up, according to Sam. It seemed more than a little coincidental that Dom and Cole ended up in his room. Why in the hell would he do that? Baird hadn't even told him that they were over yet.

"What do you mean _not a big deal_?" Baird spoke louder, wide-eyed. "What about Anya? Where does she factor into all of this?"

Cole gave him an odd look, setting down the hammer. "What do you mean where does Anya come into this? She doesn't."

"What do you _mean_ that she _doesn't_?" With all of the years he had been working without earmuffs, he wasn't able to easily readjust his voice after speaking over noise. "She's Marcus' woman! I think she has _some_ bearing on this situation."

"Quiet down, baby." Cole whispered, as Baird's loud outburst had drawn looks. He put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Listen. Anya has nothing to do with this because she already knows. She's fine with it."

"She's _fine_ with Marcus cheating on her?!" He strained his voice to whisper. His mind was filling with logical connections. How would she know? Why would she be fine with it? "And knows about what? Us fucking?"

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Cheating?"

He caught Cole's bewildered expression. "What? It's a legitimate question."

"It would be one." Cole nodded. "If Anya and Marcus were dating."

Time seemed to slow down and stand still for Baird. His heart froze and his mind stopped racing. _What_ did Cole just say?

" _Were_ dating?" Baird asked slowly. "As in the past tense. They aren't anymore?"

"Yeah." Cole nodded, staring at him.

"For how long?!" Suddenly, Baird's head was spinning then. So many scenarios were going through his mind that he was beginning to feel dizzy. "I hadn't heard anything about it."

"Really? I thought everyone knew in the Squad." He shook his head. "Baird, Marcus and Anya haven't been together since Jacinto. And she knows that you two have been...together." Embarrassed, Cole looked away.

Baird's energy seemed to drain from him. His head was pounding due to the constant thoughts that he was having.

Marcus had set him up...why?

Anya and Marcus hadn't been together since Jacinto...why didn't Marcus tell him so that Baird wouldn't have to stress out about it? The only reason why he had broken up with Marcus was because he wouldn't ever be able to love him back. And Marcus wouldn't be able to love him because he was in love with Anya.

But they weren't dating now...

Everyone knew they were fucking...when had Marcus told them? And why would he without Baird's consent or even his input?

Nothing made sense.

He leaned against the shelter, feeling very tired. "I don't know what's going on." He repeated, sighing heavily.

* * *

Baird didn't expect to be back in this room again and not so soon. He had questions and he needed answers. After his talk with Cole, he had went to his room and dressed down to his trousers and shirt. Of course, he carried his gun with him to Marcus', just in case if something happened.

The shower had been running when he walked into his room. He didn't even use caution to check if anyone had seen him. It wasn't like it was needed anymore. No one was in the barracks anyway and if they were, he didn't care.

Baird had pressing matters that weighed on him. Perhaps people would think he was going in to fuck or just speak with his Sergeant. Their thoughts didn't matter. What mattered was the questions that Baird was going to ask and that he was going to make Marcus answer.

So he had settled himself on his bed with his Lancer on top of the dresser, waiting for Marcus to finish.

He heard the shower shut off and footsteps on the linoleum as Marcus got out. His heart was out of control. He had no idea what he was going to say, but he _needed_ to find out everything. And he needed to find out _now_. He couldn't go any longer with being in the dark.

The door opened and steam was let out before Marcus emerged. His expression didn't change although his eyes showed a slight surprise when he came across Baird before they dimmed to a darker hue.

Baird forced himself not to look away from the pissed off man with his hair matted to his head, which he was drying with a towel. The towel about his waist was tied loosely. He could see the outline of his cock vaguely. That made him begin to salivate unknowingly.

"At least I don't have to be afraid of the possibility of you shooting me." Baird smirked, looking at the Lancer leaning against the wall, next to Marcus.

"Do you just invade people's privacy whenever the fuck you feel like it?" His voice dripped with danger, ignoring his comment.

"I wouldn't if I knew what the _fuck_ was happening." he blurted out. And there he goes. Baird really didn't have any tact.

Marcus paused, narrowing his eyes. "What in the hell are you talking about?

Baird sighed heavily, not even getting up. "Sam said that you set me up. And Anya and you broke up during Jacinto? And how come everyone knows what we did?" He was angry, that was for sure, but mostly he was dumbfounded. He had no idea what to do and felt completely lost.

Marcus walked across the room to sit on the bed next to him, continuing to dry his hair. "It's not like I went around running my goddamn mouth." he growled. "Sam had said that she'd seen us." He didn't elaborate and Baird didn't need him to. He could see that the older man was beginning to redden. His voice got a bit quieter. "Anya...Anya deserved to know. I couldn't lie to them but I knew that they could keep a goddamn secret."

Baird swallowed hard. "I didn't want to assume—"

"But you were." He said through gritted teeth.

"What would _you_ do in my situation?" Baird snapped at him. "Anyone would have thought that you were cheating! You should have made it clear so I wouldn't be so _unclear_."

Marcus put his forearms on his knees. "The same damn thing." He sounded so defeated that Baird's heart pulled for him. He was slipping again...into that realm of feelings that he tried so hard to keep at bay.

But now wasn't the time. He wasn't going to hide himself away any more. He was going to be honest, no matter what happened. He had transferred and if this didn't go well, then he could easily make it so that his transfer was permanent. But he really needed to know everything...

Marcus sighed before continuing. "Anya and I decided that it was best if we remained close friends." He slowly turned his cold blue eyes to him before saying, "You don't need to know the details."

"I don't want to know the details." Baird jeered. "I just want to know what it has to do with _me_."

Marcus breathed hard through his nose. "We broke up the day before you punched me in the showers." He rubbed his jaw as if remembering the hit was as fresh today than it was over a year ago, looking off in the distance. "I needed to sort things out. And I finally did. But she wasn't in the plan." He then looked over at Baird, who was slowly cracking his knuckles. "That was a good shot, though."

"A cheap shot." he snorted. "You really pissed me off."

Marcus just grunted, although it sounded skeptical.

Baird looked away. "You were treating me worse than I treated the Stranded." he added softly.

Marcus was quiet for a few moments before he sighed. "I was distancing myself from you."

"But you stopped after the shower..." Baird's voice trailed off. Thoughts were connecting, but he still didn't get the full picture. "Why did you set me up?" He continued as Marcus tossed the towel he was using to dry his hair on the floor. "What was the point of embarrassing me in front of Dom and Cole? _That's_ what I'm pissed about."

Marcus did one of his slow head turns and stared at Baird with fury. "You think _I_ told Dom and Cole to walk in on us having _sex_?" He snarled ferociously, his voice raising an octave.

"Sam said—" He began, about to spew out insults.

"I asked Sam to tell you _to meet me,_ because I _wanted_ to tell you something." Marcus interrupted angrily. "I didn't _need_ to tell you right then and I sure as hell wouldn't have said it in front of people. It had _nothing to do_ with Dom and Cole."

"Why would you relay a message to Sam?!" Baird shot back. "You know the bitch doesn't care about me!"

"I was _fucking busy_." He slowly said, forcing his cold voice to get under control. "She's the only one that I could see that would get that message to you. But then you said you were done. So I didn't say anything about it."

Baird raised an eyebrow. What did Baird ending their sexual relationship have anything to do with Marcus' message? It wasn't as if Baird was planning on never speaking to the man again, although he had hoped it. He kept his mouth shut as Marcus continued, although it took plenty of energy.

"I didn't _need_ to tell you a fucking thing. You didn't _need_ to come here." He gritted his teeth. "Dom and Cole were going to warn me about a possible polyp infestation. It was a fucking coincidence that they came into my room. I didn't set that shit up!"

" _How the fuck was I supposed to know_?" He cried out in a rage, glaring at Marcus. He wasn't able to keep quiet as long as he'd hoped.

"You would have if you didn't _fucking_ _transfer_." The dark look in Marcus' eyes grew darker. Baird shivered at the look in his eyes now.

The words rushed out before he could keep a lid on them. "I thought it was best." he stammered, shivering under Marcus' angry gaze. "I-I didn't want you to be embarrassed with having me around and Dom and Cole either. You wouldn't be _able_ to transfer because of you being head of the squad."

Baird saw Marcus close his eyes, breathing slowly. He was trying to get his anger under control. "I talked to Cole about this and I apologized." Baird continued. "It seemed like I abandoned you guys—"

"You did." He sounded like a ticking time-bomb. Any second, he seemed as if he would explode...

"I'm _not_ a deserter." It was obvious that the conversation was taking a toll on Marcus, who barely said any words to begin with. He was about to blow. But Baird needed to make him understand. "I hate that I did that and I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

Marcus was silent. The atmosphere around him seemed to suggest that the conversation was over. But Baird wasn't going to let it be.

He let five minutes of silence pass before he whispered, "Say what?"

An eye of his twitched, although they were still closed. "What are you talking about?" Marcus growled in dangerous tones.

"What did you want to say that you couldn't say in front of people? That could wait?"

He didn't say anything. He slightly bent his head, slowly closing and opening his fists. His body was stiff.

"Is it the reason why you distanced yourself from me again the past few weeks?"

Marcus slowly opened his eyes, looking down at his hands. His jaw twitched. He looked agitated as well as uncomfortable. The red on his face seemed to deepen.

It was as at that moment, as Baird looked upon the man who looked as if he was at a loss for words, that he came to enlightenment. He completely understood why Marcus distanced himself.

Marcus never knew how to express his feelings. It hadn't ever been truly expressed at home. He was, though, an emotional man, as was Baird. But Baird was willing to cover up how he was truly feeling by being an arrogant prick.

Marcus just buried his emotions deep inside or felt awkward when the subject required some emotional appeal. Or removed himself from the source of pain when he was hurt.

Marcus was embarrassed for how he may have felt in Jacinto towards Baird. That could have been the "feelings he was trying to sort out" and why he needed to distance himself from him.

He was possibly also hurt by Baird ending their tryst which would explain his behavior the past few weeks. It fit Cole's description of him: how Marcus _wasn't_ himself and how he had received some bad news...

If he was right...

"Is it...Is it because you want me?" Baird forced himself to say the words. It was incredibly hard for him to do so. He wasn't the type to try and understand others, but he was even less of the type to talk about feelings.

He watched Marcus' body suddenly still. Then his fingers began to slowly form into a fist. Before they could curl into his palm, Baird grasped his hand.

As soon as he touched him, it was as if all of Marcus' energy coursed through his body. He was able to feel how tense Marcus was. He could feel all of the pain that the man kept hidden away from the world, stuck inside which tortured him daily. And he could feel how tired the man was.

Marcus didn't want to keep fighting the war. He didn't want to see anymore people die. He was tired of it all, having to fight for humanity and, afterwards if they won and he lived, to rebuild it. Of being the common man and hiding his feelings from the world. Being a stoic shell with a mess of trouble underneath that he wasn't allowed to unleash.

All of this Baird could feel and there was nothing he wanted more but to alleviate all of his stress and pain, especially the ones in which Baird was related.

It hurt Baird to think that he had been oblivious to it all. He had been so wrapped up in thinking that Marcus was still fawning over Anya that he went to great lengths to pretend as if he didn't care about the man: a mind game that he tried to conquer so that he could conquer Marcus. He had assumed that Marcus didn't care for him at all and Baird sought to change that.

But Marcus did care. He had _always_ cared. Baird just hadn't realized it. And every time Baird would spout out some rude comment towards Marcus after sex, he would say nothing but be hurt. His non-visible reaction made Baird think that Marcus was just using him, which, in turn, hurt Baird.

Baird realized when Marcus initiated their first kiss, he was trying to show Baird how much he cared about him, not trying to use him to fulfill his lusts. When they had made love before, he was trying to get through to Baird how much he wanted to be with him, not just fulfilling the last wishes of a man that had broken off their affair.

But Baird was blinded by false claims that he believed true, his reassurance that he could change Marcus' feelings, and, when Baird had thought that Marcus wouldn't ever give up Anya, that Marcus' feelings wouldn't be reciprocated. There was no way he would have been able to see, through his clouded judgment and the mind game that he was playing with himself, the reality of the situation.

There was a chance...a chance that he could be wrong...that these thoughts in Baird's head weren't what Marcus was thinking at all. Yet, why hadn't he pulled away from Baird's grasp if they weren't?

Marcus looked down at Baird's hand for a few seconds. "No." he said quietly. It seemed that Baird's heart had been stabbed by the word. He was about to withdraw his hand when he felt Marcus close his fingers around them. Baird had to strain to hear his next words. "That I want to _be_ with you."

His response made a rush of emotions overtake Baird and he sighed with relief. Marcus continued, still avoiding his eyes. "I tried to tell you. Plenty of times. Every time you were busy. Either helping the Gorasni with Mathieson's prosthetic. Or working in the maintenance bay. I was even going to tell you when you were sick. Doc Hayman said you needed your rest."

All the times that Baird had seen Marcus and had thought that Anya and he were flaunting their relationship, it was actually because Marcus wanted to take him aside for a conversation. That confession seemed to melt his heart.

A small smile grew on Baird's face. And it wasn't Cole after all that had checked on him when he was on the ship. "You mean it was you who checked up on me?"

Marcus said nothing, but his cheeks were a fierce red and, as Baird gently turned his face to him, his eyes told the truth. It embarrassed him even though he was truly worried for Baird. That was why Doc Hayman hid the identity of the person from him.

Baird's heart was swelling with joy due to the worn and beaten man sitting beside him. He hadn't shaved so he had a shadow of a beard with black and gray whiskers poking out. His hair had a bit more gray in it. But he was still as delectable to Baird, no matter what state he was in.

He leaned close to lightly touch his lips against his, feeling the whiskers scratch against his face. He enjoyed the feeling as he pulled away. He needed to show Marcus that he felt for him as well.

"Do you know why I was truly sick?" He asked Marcus, who gave a slight shake of his head. "It was because...I was starting to realize my feelings for you. I didn't understand it. I just needed some time to think. I was sick because of that."

Baird could see a small smile tugging at the end of his lips. "I thought...I thought it was because of...something that Cole and you had done."

"What do you mean?" he asked perplexed.

Marcus looked down at their hands again, and slightly tightened his grip. "I thought you were fucking Cole." he finally let out.

Baird's mouth slightly dropped in shock as Marcus gave a heavy sigh. "When you two go off to do your rounds, you take longer than usual. And you barely report shit. You said it was because you usually have nothing to report and I understand that. You two were always together though, so it led me to assume that you two... _did_ something. Or wanted to."

So _that's_ what Marcus had meant whenever he questioned about Cole or why he looked at them in a suspicious way whenever he saw them together. And Baird had thought that Marcus was afraid that Baird would have told Cole of their relationship...

"You _know_ I'm careful to not do anything risky." Baird said.

"That hasn't stopped you from being with me." Marcus whispered, his thumb running along Baird's hands, eyes still on their hands.

Baird smirked, shaking his head. "I can't believe you thought that. Just like I did with Anya and you." He continued softly. "But I feel nothing for Cole. I mean, could you imagine?...Ugh, stupid question. You did." That got a small grunt that was similar to a laugh from Marcus. "But that would be like Dom and you—You're buddies. You can't do that to your buddies."

"Friend." The small smile was fading. He could tell that Marcus was slipping into a dark place from the look of his eyes.

"Right. Sorry." Baird brought his free hand to run it through Marcus' hair. He sincerely hoped that he hadn't caused any severe stress with Marcus. The man was only a few years older but he had aged to look a bit older. Baird didn't even have any gray in his hair.

Marcus reached for Baird's hand and kissed the palm. Baird shivered again. But this time, it was because of excitement.

"So what were we then?" Marcus turned his eyes onto him again. "Acquaintances? Since you don't fuck friends."

Baird smirked, removing his hand from Marcus' grasp and beginning to run his fingers along Marcus' wet hair again. "Are we trying to kid ourselves? We were enemies."

It was Marcus' turn to be surprised, but that meant only a barely noticeable widening of the eyes. "I never saw you that way."

"You're fucking perfect." Baird seethed softly, with a bit of resentment, now avoiding his stare. "A better man than me. I hate you for it. For pointing out all of my fucking flaws without having to do a damn thing. But...I love you for it too." The last few words fell out of his mouth as he stared into Marcus' eyes withdrawing his hand from his hair.

There was silence as Marcus just stared at him. Then a half-smile crossed his face and he began to chuckle. And it wasn't a casual one. It was a _genuine_ laugh.

Baird was awestruck. The man was beautiful when he smiled. He knew that there wasn't anything for him to be smiling about, but if they were together, he would want Marcus to always smile. It would reassure Baird of—fuck, anything.

If they were together...if they were only together...

"You're such a kid." He finally said.

"Wha-What?!" Baird quipped, snapping out of his daze. "I'm only a few years younger than you!"

"But you're fucking innocent."

"No, I'm not! And I was being completely open with you!" Baird furrowed his brow in annoyance. He was becoming irate.

Marcus' smile had faded but his expression was soft and endearing. Just as it was whenever he had looked at Anya. "You're arrogant. You're defensive—"

"I've only been saying good things about you, but you only have bad things to say about me?!"

"You're whiny." He muttered, though his expression had softened more. He moved himself onto the bed as Baird looked on at him, unable to control his hurt expression.

"You're smart." he murmured, as they stared into each other's eyes. "You act like a hard-ass but you're compassionate. You talk too much, but you're honest. _You're_ perfect and that—" His voice faltered for a few seconds as he looked away and cleared his throat. "–that and more is why I love you."

It was as if Baird wasn't able to get enough air into his lungs. He was breathless. He needed a few minutes to gather himself after what Marcus said. He didn't expect him to say it back.

But...they had been together intimately for at least six months and known each other for more than a year...

He laid down next to Marcus, turning his face to him by gently pushing his chin his way, holding his eyes. "What?" he whispered.

Marcus growled, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm _not_ saying it again." he muttered, blushing. "It's...fucking embarrassing."

A few moments went by before Baird asked, "So...what does this mean?" His eyes were focused on Marcus' chin. "Are we...official? Or something?"

"I think love confessions make anything official, don't you?" His tone was hard, but his face was relaxed. _More relaxed than it has ever been_ , Baird thought.

"I've never made one before, asshole." He quipped in annoyance. "And certainly not to a...a man."

Marcus was quiet and then said, "Neither have I. To a man."

"But I thought you had relationships with men."

Marcus turned his head to catch Baird's eyes. "I never had a _romantic_ relationship with them." he whispered. "It was just sex and happened whenever Anya and I were taking a break."

Baird hadn't thought that they ever took breaks. Fifteen years long without taking a break? It was rare. Fifteen years strong and it was all over? That was something else entirely. And it was all because of Baird.

"You're still the moral prick." Baird muttered, closing his eyes. "Is that how you became so great at blow jobs?"

He didn't hear anything for a few minutes. "I haven't blown anyone except you." He heard Marcus mutter. " And you're the only one that's blown me. _Ever_." He opened one eye to see Marcus' closed. Not even _Anya_? "I was wondering how _you_ were so good for having never done it."

Baird scowled. "I can't stick the whole thing in my mouth. But _you_ can."

Marcus' eyes slowly opened. "You think that's easy?" He whispered. "It's a lot to swallow." Baird's chest swelled. He liked the fact that it was a bit difficult for Marcus to swallow him. Marcus caught his puffed chest and said, "You're so easily pleased."

He made a face at the older man. "I've been practicing." he said proudly. He caught his Sergeant's look and quickly said, " _Not_ on Cole."

"How?" He asked, having been satisfied at the fact that Cole had nothing to do with Baird's blow job skills.

"Whenever I get a cucumber or banana. But...it's a failed cause. They're not the same length or width as your cock-" Marcus' small grin made him stop talking and resume blushing.

"There's no need for you to _practice_ anymore, Baird. Whenever you want, whatever you want, we can do it."

Baird pursed his lips. The appetizing thought that he had had a few weeks ago, being the one to make Marcus scream, was what he _really_ wanted to try out. But it was too soon to talk about it.

Although, there _was_ something that he hadn't been able to do throughout the course of their relationship. "Can I...Can I practice now?"

Marcus stared at his blushed face. "Why not?" He murmured.

He purposely avoided Marcus' eyes as he untied Marcus' towel to reveal his thick cock. Marcus spread his legs wide as Baird got between them, unbuckling himself so that he could free his own cock.

He licked his lips as he stroked Marcus' hardening dick, doing the same to his. Parting his lips, he engulfed the head, slowly licking all around the mushroom tip. When he began to flick his tongue across the slit that was starting too ooze pre-cum, he felt gentle fingers in his air.

_He's enjoying it..._

Tasting the salty taste of Marcus' juice made Baird even more excited. He wanted more of it...

Baird dared to look up to see Marcus with his eyes closed, quietly moaning in restrained contentment. He fingers curled into Baird's hair as he began to swallow him more, his other hand grabbing the edge of the mattress above his head.

Baird groaned lovingly at the sight, his mouth full of his lover's hot hardening cock, stroking himself and Marcus harder. He wanted to see Marcus in such a compromising position. He never thought the man could show such sexy expressions when he was getting serviced.

He looked on as Marcus slowly opened his eyes, looking at Baird with affection. Baird was immobilized by such a look from Marcus that he had forgotten where he was for a moment. Marcus took the moment to move his hips upward, pushing his cock deeper into Baird's mouth. He continued to casually thrust his cock in and out of Baird as his eyes fluttered close, gently pushing Baird's head onto it.

Oh no...that can't do...Baird wanted to see his eyes that desired him...he _needed_ to see them...

He let his lover's cock fall out of his mouth. "Baby, look at me." He began to gently suck on his balls as Marcus slowly opened his eyes. "I want you to look at me, okay?"

Marcus just stared at him, saying nothing. His fingers though trailed down Baird's face and across his lips. Baird gently bit the middle finger. "And please..don't hold back." He whispered. "I want to hear your voice. I want you to call out my name."

He could see the pale body before him turning a lavish shade of pink as Marcus gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

With a smile, Baird licked the underside his shaft before taking in Marcus' cock inside of his mouth. Now, he heard Marcus' adoring sighs. He felt his body move in rhythm to the quickening pace that Baird was setting.

Their eyes never left one another as Baird pushed Marcus' legs further apart. He then reached up and caught Marcus' hand, interlacing his fingers with his. Marcus grabbed Baird's free on and did the same.

Tongue licking all around Marcus' cock, Baird decided that it was finally time. He could deep throat Marcus if he wanted to. It was will over mind in this aspect. Without a second thought and eyes still on Marcus, Baird slowly filled his mouth completely with Marcus' cock, swallowing every bit of him down to the hilt.

He watched Marcus' eyes widen as he threw his head back, nails scraping against Baird's knuckles. " _Ah, Damon! Fuck!_ "

Hearing that made Baird's heart beat uncontrollably as he felt Marcus' body tremble beneath him. He knew that Marcus was almost at his limit...The older man had a stronger stamina then this but it seemed to be weakening. Baird's as well-there was already a pool of pre-cum culminating beneath his cock..

Baird took his cock fully once more, loving Marcus' cries of pleasure. He wasn't gagging at all. He had overcome his reflex a bit before. He was careful to not have his teeth scraping against his cock though, which is why he went slowly. Later on, when they were together, he'd be able to swallow quickly like Marcus. He'd have tons of practice.

When they were together...

Marcus pulled his hands away from Baird's, sitting up. "Damon..." he moaned. "I'm-I'm about to cum."

Baird pulled away from his cock as Marcus began to stroke his furiously. "But I want to drink you... _all_ of it." he protested, staring into Marcus' blue eyes. They were usually filled with a deep sorrow, but not now. They were deeply amorous. He watched as Marcus gritted his teeth as Baird took his cock from him and began to blow him once more, stroking him as Marcus had just done.

He had only swallowed half of him when Marcus grabbed his shoulders, digging his nails in his skin, crying out his name. He felt him shiver and immediately his mouth was filled with a warm creamy liquid.

Marcus' essence was finally on his tongue...he was able to finally taste the saltiness and bitterness of it. But it also tasted so sweet...perhaps because he longed to be able to gulp the seed of this man when no one else had been able to.

He didn't wait for Marcus' cock to soften as he let it fall from his mouth. He sat up to see Marcus staring at him, tired and yet relaxed all the same. And happy. It was undeniable that this man was happy.

Baird's heart swelled as he swallowed Marcus' cum and smiled when his eyes seemed to widen, his mouth slightly open. Swallowing a man's cum was told him that one had enjoyed what what they had done and, even more, enjoyed him. It was the ultimate compliment.

Marcus did nothing as Baird inserted his cum covered tongue into his mouth, gently pushing him down onto the bed. He broke the kiss to slowly lick Marcus' scar from the bottom to top. He then kissed it lightly and continued to kiss his down to his jaw, which he teasingly bit. He felt Marcus' body jerk. A hand of his was entwined within Marcus' hair, turning his head away from him as he found the sensitive spot on Marcus' neck.

Marcus' hands were beneath his shirt, scraping at his back as Baird began to tenderly bite the spot. Their cocks were rubbing against each other sensually as Baird began to tease Marcus' nipples, pinching and pulling them.

"Are you _trying_ to get me hard again?" Marcus growled seductively.

"I want to show you what you'd be missing..." Baird said softly, raising himself until he was directly over Marcus. "If you even _think_ about leaving me." His serious eyes stared down into Marcus' slightly surprised ones.

He briefly closed them. "What are you? A jealous idiot?" he muttered. "Do you _think_ that I could even go back to women? " He slapped his ass which told Baird to move forward. "I told you that Anya and I are through."

"But you could go with other guys." he sighed, spreading his legs and leaning against the wall. Baird didn't want to admit it, but he was jealous. He had finally succeeded in snatching Marcus from Anya and now he was afraid to lose him.

"I could.." he said, holding onto Baird's legs. "But I won't." Before Baird could say anything else, Marcus had already taken his cock into his mouth. He immediately felt weak as he entered Marcus' mouth and his hot tongue caressed his cock. Trying to hold himself up with one hand, he reached below to grasp Marcus' hair.

He looked down, watching Marcus' leave his warm saliva on his dick as he sucked him off, his neck craned. He was holding onto Baird's legs very tightly as Baird began to piston his mouth unmercifully.

"You're not going to leave me, right?" Baird said through gritted teeth, clawing at the wall and Marcus' hair. He looked down at Marcus, his insecurity showing. Since when had Baird ever had something good happen to him? He had always been miserable.

Lack of friends made him unable to form true friendships and trust. Lack of a relationship with his parents made him despise them and resent the possibility of being one of them. Lack of honest women that he'd been with made him feel that being in love just wasn't for him. So he never expected any good things to happen to him.

Until Marcus opened up those painful wounds and began to heal him. He couldn't bare to lose him...ever.

Marcus shook his head, peering up at Baird through honest eyes. Excitement seemed to shoot through Baird like electricity. He trembled as spilled himself into Marcus' mouth. He watched him greedily sucking him still until every drop of Baird was in his mouth. Marcus then laid back onto the pillow after Baird's cock out of his mouth. Eyes connected with him, he swallowed Baird's cum, licking his lips.

Baird slowly relaxed his body onto Marcus, putting his mouth over his. When Marcus opened his mouth, Baird was able to stick his tongue inside of him. Tasting his own cum was a new experience for Baird. It didn't taste anything like Marcus': it was completely bitter. But, then again, it was _his_ own. And he didn't want to taste any other man's cum but Marcus.

"How'd I do?" Baird whispered. He was in a blissful state, completely elated, and wanted nothing more now than to sleep. He could see that Marcus was the same way as he watched his body slowly relax as he was slipping into a dream state.

"Amazing." Marcus' side of lips were turned up although his eyes were closed. "You did it."

Baird didn't want to wake him, but he had to say it. To make sure that their new relationship didn't have any bitterness. He wanted to have a clean slate with his lover.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" His voice was heavy.

"For hurting you if I did. I didn't mean it."

"It's okay. You wouldn't have known since I didn't say anything. Besides.." Marcus added, mumbling. "Your mouth more than made up for it."

Baird hesitated. "And for not trusting you as my Sergeant. You're a decent one, even for an asshole."

"Now you know better. Dumbass."

"And for leaving you alone as well as Dom and Cole. It won't ever happen again."

Marcus looked at him through lidded eyes, clutching Baird in a warm embrace.

"You better not." he grunted, his chin resting on top of Baird's head.

* * *

_**A week before leaving Vectes...** _

"Here you go, Ms. Bathory. Your canteen is filled." Anya gave a large smile to the elderly woman who thanked her graciously.

But her smile didn't shine completely through to her heart. She could see, past the lines of people that needed water filled, the four men of Delta squad working on repairing a few shelters. As she accepted the next canteen, her thoughts consumed her.

Marcus had been less and less receptive towards her in Jacinto. And she now knew why. He had said that he needed a break from the relationship, due to something that he couldn't fully understand himself. Which meant his feelings.

She had no idea that it had to do with his growing attraction for Baird. He'd known the man for a few months at the time and even Marcus didn't know when it had started. She had thought that it was stress or the possibility of him dying like all of the other breaks before then. But it wasn't.

She knew this when he sat her down days before the sinking destruction of Jacinto and told her that he couldn't get back together with her. Ever. Yet he had promised to give her the reason when he figured it out himself.

Her shoulder was nudged. "Anya, you're spilling water." Sam said.

"Oh!" Anya immediately turned off the faucet from the water truck, looking down at a puddle of water that she had just wasted.

She plastered on a smile that she hoped was real and handed the canteen over. She couldn't speak or she would cry. Fifteen years. And for what? Nothing. She was left alone for another man.

He had finally told her a week after they had found Vectes. It was a simple, "I've fallen for someone else." She begged him to not tell her more. But she didn't think it would ever be a man.

Anya had found out a bit by herself. She hadn't seen Marcus with any other woman seriously. Sam wanted Dom and Bernie had Hoffman. She would take up much of his time so that he wouldn't go see the other woman, which was why she was usually with him on his free time.

She'd call him over the Comm radio to do menial things, because she wanted to see if she could somehow rekindle their flame. But it never happened.

Her eyes drifted over to the men again. They were gone. Her eyes then darted about to find them. Dom and Cole were picking up more materials from a truck a few yards down the road. But Marcus and Baird?

She had taken another canteen and was proceeding to fill it.

She hadn't had any success with finding out who the woman was until the night of the polyp invasion. She had told Sam how dumbstruck Cole seemed to be and how he wouldn't let her anywhere near Marcus' room.

Questioning Dom and Cole yielded fruitless results, because they would say nothing about their friend. She couldn't ask Baird because she had thought that the two of them being together was rare. And she didn't ask Marcus because she didn't want to intrude on his personal space.

She didn't expect Sam to have any information since she was venting to her. But when Sam told her of the suspicious behavior between Baird and Marcus, it made her think back to the night she was on patrol.

She had visited Marcus' room and knocked plenty of times. She had tried the knob and found it unlocked as well as empty. When she was along Baird's barracks, her comm radio had come loose and clattered to the floor. When she was picking it up, she heard a door slam shut.

She was able to deduce that it was from Baird's room. The rest of the night, she checked in on Marcus' room periodically. When her shift was over at eight in the morning, he still wasn't in his room.

Anya recanted her tale to Sam and both came to the same conclusion: that the woman was Baird.

Baird emerged from behind the make-shift house twirling a wrench and Marcus followed him. What had they done behind the shelter? Baird seemed a bit flushed, but it could be because of him sweating. He looked like he was intently focused on the job at hand. Perhaps they were just resting in the shade of the large tree behind the house?

Baird was saying something to his lover and Marcus was nodding, but his eyes were focused solely on him.

Marcus hadn't ever looked at her in that way: that nearly serene look on his face that said if he died now, he would be the happiest man ever. She would always see that look cross his face whenever he spoke of Baird or whenever he saw him.

She envied Baird for that.

Handing the canteen over, she was able to see Marcus lightly tap Baird on his tool belt. He looked annoyed as he turned to him. But she could see his face instantly change when Marcus' mouth moved. It wasn't only his armor that was making him hot, she could tell, as his mouth moved as well.

"Staring at them will do no good, Anya." Sam said, blocking her view.

She sighed. "I know. But what else can I do? Sam, fifteen years of my life meant _nothing_." She nearly teared up.

"Hon, that's fifteen years of wonderful memories that you have." She responded. "He loves you. He's just realized that he's _in_ love with someone else. There's a difference."

Anya sighed. "And I was so naïve. How can someone do that, Sam? A friend? How can they say nothing to your face while they're making love to the man that you're in love with behind your back?"

Sam shook her head. "Anya, we're talking about Baird. The self-righteous asshole. Who cares about no one but himself. Is it _that_ hard to understand?" She chanced a glance over at the two men. "But...I know he's in love with Marcus. It's all over his face."

Anya sighed again, remembering how she had confronted Marcus a week after the polyp invasion. She had asked him if it was Baird that was his woman. And that was when he told her that for the past six months they had engaged in a physical relationship.

She had tried not to break down in front of him, but she couldn't hold back the tears.

" _That's why I didn't want to tell you, Anya." he had said softly, looking down at the ground._

_"Let someone tell you that after you've been in love with them for more than a decade and a half. I had hope that we would get back together someday..." she had sobbed out._

"I feel so lost..." she whispered. "I know that it was over a year ago, but I _can't_ get over him." Anya didn't think she ever would. When she had prodded Marcus for the information of his new woman, she never expected to hear the news that she got.

"You're going to have to." Sam said as they both looked over at Marcus and Baird smiling at each other. "He's Baird's now."

* * *

"Any one need a refill?" Sam said, standing up from the table. "I'm about to grab another."

"I could go for one." Cole nodded.

"I'll go with you to pick them up." Dom said, pushing back his chair.

Marcus was speaking in hushed tones with Bernie to Baird's right while Cole was regaling Anya with a story to his left.

What a fucked up dysfunctional family made up of comrades.

Baird shuffled his cards as the door to the tavern swung open. Someone loudly called to a man and laughing could be heard throughout. The air was thick with smoke and smelled heavily of alcohol. His eyes stung from the smoke and as he rubbed them with a heels of his hands, he caught sight of Anya speaking to Cole.

Baird knew that Anya was hurting. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her pass looks their way while Marcus and he were working on shelters. He just hoped that she wouldn't guess that they were tongue-locked behind the house, hidden from view by the large tree. He didn't want her to be tortured any more than she was.

He kept his eyes trained on his hand of cards, pretending to be entranced in his thoughts.

Cole and Dom were as they always were, but whenever they saw Marcus and him begin to converse with each other, they looked away, completely embarrassed. Sure, it was a new experience for them to deal with, but were they _that_ abashed by it? The conversation that Baird had had with Dom had been awkward, to say the least, but Dom told him that he wanted nothing less but to see Marcus happy. And, he had added, Marcus was the happiest that Dom had seen him in a long time.

His arm was lightly touching Marcus' as he reorganized his cards. Baird was going to move his arm, but he felt Marcus' pressing up against his once more. It made his body begin to flush with heat.

Marcus was as he normally was around others. But, he was a bit more relaxed around Baird. Baird also noticed that he occasionally had a small smile on his face and his eyes shone a bit. It seemed as if he had found another purpose to live for besides sucking the asses of the Officers and Dom. And Baird allowed himself to be a bit conceited: _He_ had given Marcus another reason to live.

As he took a swig from his bottle, his eyes went to the bar where he could see Sam and Dom. A look in the mirror told him that Sam was staring straight at him. Sam was as she always was, no more or less. Baird had apologized to her for his harsh words-begrudgingly at Marcus' behest-and she had done the same to him for torturing him emotionally. Now, she was sticking her tongue at him.

Baird narrowed his eyes, set down his bottle, and stuck his tongue back out at her.

"You kids need to behave." Bernie laughed, picking up her cards that she had set on the table.

"Ri-ight. I wouldn't want you to bore us with anymore stories from ancient times, Granny." Baird said smugly. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, Marcus with his eyes trained on the bottle that he had raised to his lips. But a faint grin was apparent. Bernie just laughed and then continued her conversation with Marcus.

Minutes began to pass and the whole atmosphere suddenly became too much for Baird—the acrid smoke, raucous laughing, drunken talks—he needed a fresh breath away from the insanity. Dom and Sam were still chatting up near the bar, waiting for the drinks that they had ordered. It was a busy night, so it would be awhile.

He stood up without making a noise, surprised that he was a little drunk, and placed a hand on Cole's shoulder.

"Hey. Play my hand for me, will you?"

"Yeah." Cole nodded, tilting his head, breaking conversation from Anya. "You okay?" Cole's loud voice would have normally carried, but it was obvious that the loud din of conversation would be able to drown it out.

"Yeah." Baird said, leaning in for him to hear. "I'll be back."

Anya's eyes were on him and she was saying something to him. He couldn't hear anything, but all he did was nod and then head outside.

A cool wind that carried the scent of the ocean hit him immediately and he almost vomited. Maybe he was more drunk than he thought. He heard a glass shatter inside which made him jolt and even more queasy. He needed to get away from tavern..

His feet were suddenly moving. He didn't know where he was being taken, he just knew that he needed to get away from the loud noise that was making him even more sick. Before he knew it, he had ended up on the beach in front of the Admiralty house, staring out at the large mass of sea behind the ships docked there.

In a week they would be on those ships. The stalks were overcoming the small island of Vectes, polyps were becoming more frequent, and the Lambency had already jumped species. It was time for them to move out back to the Mainland for safety and take their chances once again.

Another wind blew across his face, nearly sobering him. Without his armor, he felt a bit chilly. Crossing his arms across his chest, he heard sounds coming from behind him. He didn't really need to look.

"I'm fine." He said over his shoulder. "Just needed some time to myself, away from the noise."

The footsteps stopped. He heard something being said, but the wind had to carry his words to him. And they made him smile.

"Yeah." He said. "Why not?"

Marcus stood beside Baird. He looked awkward with his arms by his side, his fingers not knowing whether to curl or relax. He finally decided to put his hands on his hips.

Baird turned his face from Marcus, stifling a chuckle.

"What?" He turned to see Marcus' head tilted slightly, his cool blue eyes staring down at him.

It happened in moments that Baird couldn't recall. One second, he was staring at his intimidating Sergeant, worn out bandana, puke green muscle tee accentuating his muscles, thinking of how hot that man looked.

The next, he was inches away from his face, pulling his face down towards him, planting soft kisses upon his lips.

He was happy. Completely at bliss. He had realized that _he_ , Baird, had been the one to fall for his own mind games, not Marcus. He had been consumed with Marcus and trying to rid him of Anya or come between them when it wasn't even needed. He had mind-fucked himself into a depressed state and had even been mind-fucked by Sam. But all of the pain and heartache was worth having the man in front of him.

"You're getting too damn forward." Marcus growled. His words sounded a bit slurred, so it was obvious that he was a bit drunk as well.

"I can't help myself." Baird muttered, his gaze not being able to leave Marcus. "And I'm cold. So get over it."

"Watch your mouth." His tone had a hint of danger.

Baird teasingly bit Marcus' bottom lip. "No." He whispered.

He watched as Marcus' features softened and both sides of his lips turned up. "Asshole." Marcus said quietly, pulling Baird close to his body.

"Dipshit." Baird slowly kissed his scar. He hesitated a bit, searching within the depths of Marcus' sea blues before saying. "Guess...that's why we're so good together, huh?"

Marcus leaned forward so that his forehead was touching Baird's, holding his waist. "I don't want anyone else."

Baird smiled through his eyes, cupping the older man's face in his hands. "That's all I needed to hear." Baird murmured before giving him a love-filled kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww! I LOVE happy endings!
> 
> *Marcus makes a clear distinction in Gears of War: Aspho Fields that Dom is not his "buddy". He only had one buddy and that was Carlos Santiago, Dom's older brother.
> 
> *I wanted to show Anya's view on things, otherwise it would be an incomplete triangle. Everything that she's feeling is essentially everything that Baird had went through while he was trying to play his mind games on Marcus.
> 
> *For some people who drink, they become hypersensitive to sound and smells, enough to where they become sick if they are around it. So, Baird is as such when he's drunk.
> 
> *There was, actually, supposed to be no sex in this chapter, since I couldn't find a way to put it in. But then I found an outlet..Yay!
> 
> *This ISN'T the final chapter...There's one more. :(
> 
> And thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! ^_^


	7. Just A Little While Longer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus and Baird have confessed their feelings for each other and have entered into a relationship. What else is in store for the two of them and their future?

_**Five years later...20 A.E.: New Jacinto, Unknown Location on the Mainland...** _

  
Baird stared down at Marcus, his face flaming. "You're joking, right?" He was a little anxious. Who wouldn't be? Marcus' request worried him a bit.

"What? You can't do it?" Marcus said, an eyebrow only raising an inch.

"No! I _can_!" He muttered. But he was afraid. He'd never had to stick Marcus' dick inside of him before. On top of that, he had never taken any control during their lovemaking.

Baird steadied himself on Marcus' lap, palms on the mattress. Marcus had one hand running up and down Baird's leg and was slowly beating him off with the other.

He gritted his teeth. Why did Marcus want Baird to try this _now_? Yeah, the man was getting older. And at 42, it wasn't like he would be able to perform at his greatest ability anymore. But Baird knew that even when they were both graying, he'd want Marcus inside of him, taking control. Not the other way around.

It did dishearten him to see a bit more gray in Marcus' hair though when Baird still had all of his beautiful blonde locks.

 _I wish he'd stop fucking stressing._ Baird thought, staring down at his lover.

He spit on his hand while leaning over Marcus, reaching behind him to grab his cock and run his hand along it. Holding himself up by his knees and a forearm, Baird pushed Marcus' cock in between his cheeks. He felt the head poking against his pink ring and he forced himself to relax, breathing slowly and closing his eyes. Then he slowly pushed it inside.

Doing this himself was extremely different from Marcus doing it. He had no control when Marcus plunged his cock deep into him. Whatever pace Marcus set, Baird matched. He loved it when Marcus took total control. He took a few deep breaths, feeling Marcus slide a hand slowly up his leg to his thigh and back.

This was now a complete one-eighty. Baird would set the pace and Baird would move. He'd be in control. And in this particular situation, it was a new experience. New happenstances didn't sit well with Baird thanks to his paranoia.

He slowly sat up, putting his hands on Marcus' chest to balance himself, letting his ass slide down his cock. He couldn't keep from gasping as he swallowed Marcus' cock to the hilt. Marcus was now gently pulling on his nipples which made it even harder for him to concentrate. This position was supposed to make it easier on him, but it just seemed the opposite.

Baird could feel the flush of heat coursing through his body, making his usual pale skin turn a rosy color. He was breathing slowly, staring down into Marcus' pink face. His eyes told him that he craved him and he wanted him to move. Marcus gave a few slow thrusts to emphasize his point.

Baird bent forward, fingers intertwined in the sheets. He just couldn't do it. He couldn't get over his nervousness and his paranoia that Marcus wouldn't find him nearly as appetizing if he took control. His COG tag clinked against the one that Marcus wore about his neck.

He could see a bit of a smile on Marcus' face as he sat up, embracing Baird about his waist. Baird let him bring his body on top of his. He stared in his lover's face and a shiver went through him. The man looked like he was about to tear up his ass...and it was exciting.

"No need to be nervous..." Marcus softly kissed him. "Let me calm you down..." At that, he slowly gyrated his hips, pushing his cock inside Baird.

Baird felt him slowly moving inside of him. He pushed his body against Marcus' cock, matching his rhythm. He panted hard in Marcus' ear as he gently pulled at his hair. Marcus was gently sucking and biting his neck, which made him claw at the bed and pull his hair harder.

His dick was rubbing hard between the two bodies and he could feel it throbbing. He was already so swollen...They had just started and he wasn't going to make it..

Marcus began to thrust a little harder and faster, penetrating Baird deeply. He gave a delicious cry that mixed with pain. The constant pummeling of his ass hurt like hell, but he wouldn't want it done any other way.

"...Damon..." Marcus whispered heavily, moving his hands from the small of Baird's back to his thigh.

Baird screamed in delight as Marcus began to hit the particular area that pleasured him senselessly.

"Damon..."Marcus moaned through gritted teeth. Baird could tell by his voice that Marcus wanted him to look at him.

Baird bit his lip as he slowly turned his head. He was enamored with the love that he could see within Marcus' eyes, the desire of wanting to please him and vice versa, and never wanting to let him go. And Marcus' eyes held all the strength that he needed.

He raised himself to rest on his forearms and began to roll himself on and off Marcus' dick, keeping with the pace Marcus had set. Marcus began to cover his face with light kisses. Baird returned the favor by giving him a deep one, his tongue shoved into the man's mouth with extreme passion, playing with his tongue roughly, wanting to convey to his man how much he loved him.

Baird grabbed Marcus' hands that was gently moving Baird's ass along his dick. He intertwined his fingers with Marcus and held both hands down on the mattress, tongue still tied with his lover. He could take control if he wanted to. Baird just needed incentive...and Marcus' affirmation of his love for him was just that.

Baird pulled away breathless and, balancing himself using Marcus' hands, he began to ride him. His cock smacked against Marcus' stomach. He could feel the thrust of Marcus' hips against him as Baird's ass smacked against his thigh.

He tightened his grip on his lover's hands, spreading his legs a little wider so that Marcus could get a good view of him: his cock dripping heavy pre-cum all over his stomach, his hairless body pink with pleasure and glistening with sweat, and his bright blue eyes begging for Marcus to fuck him harder.

Baird didn't ever stifle his moans anymore as he threw his head back to let one out. Whenever he wanted to scream, he did and he loved when Marcus groaned with him. He looked down at his lover, gritting his teeth in ecstasy, when he saw something—a glint it seemed—awaken in Marcus' eyes.

It was as if the man snapped. Marcus immediately raised himself and pushed Baird upon his back. He was now staring anxiously into Marcus' wild unforgiving eyes. _Oh fuck..I guess the old man has some power in him still.._

"Marcus. Wait..." Baird muttered, a bit helpless. He could still feel the man's cock inside of him. How he hadn't slipped out of Baird was anyone's guess.

He put his arms beneath Baird's legs.

"...No...don't..." Fear was coursing through him. He wouldn't be able to sit for a week if Marcus unleashed his bestial rage.

Marcus ignored him, leaning over him while lifting him up slightly, his fists supporting his body.

"Marc- _aaah_!" A powerful thrust from Marcus made Baird grab the sheets above his head. The bed was rocking noisily, but the sound was unable to drown out Baird's screams for Marcus to go harder, deeper, and faster. He could feel his balls slapping against him as Marcus began to pummel him without mercy.

"Don't stop! Fuck... _Don't! Stop!_ " he cried out. He put his arms around Marcus' shoulders and gave him an extremely long passionate kiss. He felt Marcus' swollen cock inside if him begin to pulse and immediately tightened his ass around it. He wanted Marcus to shoot his ink deep inside of him and never stop. He didn't want their lovemaking to ever end. This euphoric state was enough to make him happy.

Then Marcus got on his knees then which confused Baird. Wasn't he about to cum? He pulled Baird closer to him, never letting up on his hard thrusts. He looked down at Baird, slowly stroking his cock, still pummeling his pink hole. Never letting his gaze waver from his blonde beau, Marcus bent over and closed his mouth over Baird's dick.

The double pleasure instantly made Baird arch his back, scratching at whatever he could. He didn't think that Marcus would be able to do this. _Ever_. Baird looked on as Marcus satisfied both his pink ring that he still kept tightened and his cock that wanted release.

He bent over, sucking at Baird's cock so eagerly. In his position, he was only able to get a bit in his mouth. But it was more than enough. Baird didn't know if he should push against Marcus' cock in his ass or push his hips upward to force Marcus to suck him. He settled for doing both as fast as he could, pushing himself over the edge.

It didn't take much sucking for both of them to explode: Baird's cum bursting inside and out of Marcus' mouth, splattering his jaw while Marcus' cum coated his pink walls with his creamy spunk. Baird shivered as he spilled more of himself into Marcus' mouth and Marcus' cock pulsed, filling every inch of Baird's forbidden crevice.

Through tired eyes, Baird looked up at Marcus as he collapsed on top of him, not pulling out until he had softened. He listened to his heavy breathing as he put his arms around him and stroked his hair.

They both needed this, Baird knew, as he winced at the pain of Marcus pulling out. With what was coming tomorrow, it was necessary that both get all of their tensions out-of-the-way to face the following day. It'd be the last time they both saw each other for a while...

* * *

It seemed to jump out at him whenever he found it lying out in the open. It would make sense, especially today of all days, since Marcus was mourning the loss of a brother and Baird of a comrade. They were about to go visit the site of Dom's death and he knew that he would be glad when the day was over for the two of them. He would be emotionally drained from the experience.

He was looking at a picture that showed Marcus, Dom, and Dom's brother, Carlos, in a bar. It was lying on top of Marcus' dresser as well as Dom's knife that he hadn't ever retrieved from Marcus and Marcus' gloves. They were young then and smiling. And not one that Marcus had forced for the picture. It was a genuine large one.

 _I probably won't ever see him smile like that..._ Baird thought, envying Dom and Anya for such memories. And that thought degraded him further. Dom was dead. Why would he ever envy him? "Remember when people used to know how to smile." Baird whispered to no one in particular.

"Yeah. I do." Marcus walked up behind him, staring down at the photo with him. His voice was barely audible. And extremely anguished.

Baird tore his eyes from the young Marcus to the man who was eighteen years older. The man who hardly smiled, that had a gash on his right cheek, that was nearly a hundred pounds heavier than the photo. The man who had more gray streaks apparent in his black hair than before, his jaw rough with lack of shaving, crows feet visible, and a weary worn out look in his eyes.

Marcus' gaze was still on the photo as Baird realized that he would never want the Marcus of his prime and glad that he didn't know him then. His body was stiff, fists curled into a ball, which meant that he didn't want to be touched. But Baird ignored it. He couldn't keep all the pain inside of him. Especially not when he—Baird, his lover—was so willing to bear the burden for him.

He put his arms around Marcus and felt him jolt. Marcus would have to learn that it was okay to touch. That it was okay to let people try to ease some of him pain. And Baird was willing to do it, no matter the cost.

He felt Marcus slowly put his arms around him and pull him closer to him. Baird's cheek rubbed against Marcus' unshaven one, dwelling in the moment for a few seconds. "We have to leave." he whispered. "They should be here by now."

Marcus nodded, pulling away, and both headed out of the small building that held the barracks of the slowly growing COG forces.

Three years since the ending of the war and humanity had a long road ahead. Today, the COG was celebrating the conquering of the Locust. They both watched as military vehicles rumbled towards the center of the square, bringing in Stranded that wanted to live under COG rule once more and setting up for the new Chairman's—Chairman Hoffman—speech as well as the supposedly uplifting parade.

Yet, to Delta Squad, there was no celebration. The day that the war ended was also the day that they had lost a vital member, Dominic Santiago, and when Marcus had lost his father. Who could smile during such a day? Even for those who _didn't_ know Dom or Adam Fenix, they would have known Chairman Prescott had also died. But having left the COG eighteen months before the end of war and frying the world using the Hammer of Dawn didn't leave his memory as one that was truly well-respected. So people would still celebrate.

Baird briefly placed a hand on Marcus' arm. He stared at him with a very forlorn look, although he was struggling to keep his emotions inside. Baird nodded, telling him that he was pretty tired of the festivities as well, but it was necessary to keep hope among the denizens alive and to show them that humanity can, will, and _did_ prevail.

Their relationship was even more of a secret than Marcus and Anya's had been. Everyone knew about Marcus and Anya essentially even though Marcus himself didn't acknowledge it in public. Hardly anyone knew about Marcus and Baird.

Marcus and Baird had told Bernie in private after she had commented on how close the two of them looked one day. She had been shocked at first, unable to believe it. It wasn't until Marcus-which surprised both Baird and Bernie for how forward and public it was-pressed his lips against Baird's in front of her that she accepted the truth.

The news was kept from Hoffman. Hoffman was a military man in every strict sense of the word. He stuck by COG rules when he shot Geril Atar for stealing food at Anvil Gate and was _about_ to shoot a man named Simon on Vectes for trying to take a fishing trawler to escape. _Sacrifice a few to save many_ seemed to be a motto of his.

And their relationship was sacrificial. Their sperm was still useful, so why wasn't it being spent on the women? It was nearly treason to enter into such a relationship when the world was at the brink of extinction. _Not_ to mention the abundant rules against such acts as they were doing.

With one of the men that he deeply cared for gone and knowing the toll that it took on Hoffman, both Marcus and Baird thought it best that he didn't know.

Their relationship was five years strong and relatively simple. They made love to each other, respected each other's spaces, but communicated often. They never left the other angry, consoled one another, and told each other how much in love they were.

But in public they were nothing more than comrades: a man who begrudgingly accepted the other's leadership and a man who tolerated the antics of a man bloated with his ego and sense of superiority. And that was fine with Baird.

He could handle all the stress of a secret relationship. The fact that he had Marcus for life was more than enough to handle anything. He never wanted to be in the public eye with his personal life anyway.

A Junker pulled up to them as they walked to the curb. When the door opened, Anya and Sam got out as well as Cole. They were all accompanying Marcus to visit Dom's grave site.

"Jace is driving." Sam said as she approached the two men.

"You ready to head out?" Cole asked the both of them, but he was looking straight at Marcus to make sure that he was ready.

"Mercy is a few hours away." Anya added. "We have to get back in time for Baird and I to head back to Azura."

Marcus nodded slowly. "Yeah. I don't feel like going to the parade today."

All of them piled into the Junker, Anya patting Marcus in reassurance, Baird biting his tongue to keep from telling her to _stop_ touching his man.

The wench.

* * *

All were silent as they picked their way around the rubble that was Mercy. Baird could see, out of the corner of his eye, that Marcus was remembering the pain that had happened here. But this was Baird's first time seeing it. Sam and Cole as well.

It was hard to imagine that the place had crawled with Formers and other types of Lambent. But he could see the excessive damage that was done to the place. He just didn't know if Marcus would be able to take it once he saw the tanker that Dom had sacrificed himself in.

It would be the first time anyone had gone to Mercy since Dom's death.

Baird was still a bit tense, not having gotten the instinct of war out of his body. He was wary of the fact that _anything_ could happen-hell, they'd just gotten through a fifteen year war with creatures that had lived _underground_ and who knew for how long-and he wouldn't be surprised if a Drudge burst through an emergence hole in front of him. The thought of such a thing happening suddenly just like Emergence Day made him pull the strap on his gun that he had grabbed from the Junker a little harder.

"What? You don't trust my dad?"

Baird's eyes widened as he looked over at Marcus who was scowling at him, clearly aggravated. He knew what he meant.

Adam Fenix had found the solution for the Lambency problem by the use of the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon. Once activated, the targeted radiation eradicated all the Lambent cells within a being. The man had sacrificed his life in order to form the weapon. So what was the need for a gun if all the Locust and Lambent were dead?

Baird could have made a snappy come-back about the possibility that there were other things about Sera that they didn't know and should be cautious-but he knew that such a conversation would upset Marcus... _especially_ today. "Habit." he said quietly.

Marcus looked away before quietly responding. "Yeah."

Baird followed Marcus through the town, being respectfully silent to the deaths that had occurred here. He faintly wondered when it would be inhabited once more...or if it ever would.

He was able to see Sam, Anya, Jace, and Cole a bit away, talking to each other in quiet tones. They were all being respectful as well, staring at the overgrown moss crawling over the destroyed buildings, the mess that would needed to be cleaned if it was to be lived in again, and the realization that this was one of many places around the world where a great loss of life had occurred.

Baird bumped into Marcus' hard body then and casually stepped back. His quick rude remarks towards Marcus was happening less often, and it would be because he couldn't verbally hurt the man who held him at night. He didn't want to. He only wanted to encourage him and let him know that he would always be there for him.

Yes, he was forced to masquerade about the city that was being rebuilt with an air of his common arrogance to keep up the facade that the two were barely tolerating each other. But he had stopped throwing degrading words at Marcus and he him. They cared for each other too much to do that.

People had recognized that he had stopped being caustic towards him, asking him if he had suddenly grown a heart. He'd only respond with the fact that if he did, he would actually care for _them_.

Baird pulled himself from his thoughts, coming to the realization that Marcus hadn't react to his body running against his. He stood next to him and his eyes followed Marcus' gaze, slowly widening.

The fuel truck that Dom had supposedly driven was still where he had crashed it, completely blackened due to the flames of the explosion and upside down. He dared to look at Marcus and his throat seemed to close up.

He was staring at the vehicle, motionless and helpless, tears silently falling down his face, shoulders sagged.

It made him feel that he was intruding. This moment was between Dom and Marcus: Baird had nothing to do with it.

But as much as he wanted to leave Marcus so he could have some time alone, he knew that the man truly didn't want to be left alone. It was an awkward situation.

Baird swallowed hard, his heart feeling heavy. He didn't want to come here. He didn't want to see Marcus go through such pain again, reliving the time that Dom had sacrificed himself for the greater good.

Irony hurt sometimes, didn't it? As many times as Marcus recklessly risked himself to others, _he_ would never get injured severely. But whenever someone did as such for him, _they_ would be caught in the crossfire. Like Dom...

But Marcus wanted to come here. He felt he should finally pay his respects since he couldn't bring himself close to the place the past two years. No one wanted to pressure him. They all had agreed to go when he was ready.

Baird didn't know what he should do to Marcus, but he knew he had to do something. He slowly approached him, but his quiet yet shaky voice stopped him.

"Don't." he whispered.

That struck Baird hard, hurting him greatly. He didn't want to make a scene in a city that was a final resting place for many, but he couldn't help himself. "You can't deal with this by holding it all in." He seethed. "Your macho bullshit is not going to work in this instance."

The slow head turn and look that Marcus gave him told Baird that he had sparked his wrath. " _Are you fucking_ _kidding me_?" He said slowly, fists clenched, teeth gritted.

Baird crossed the distance between them, heart racing in fear. They were lovers, true, but it didn't mean that they weren't scrapping with each other. They never harmed each other physically anymore though. Not ever since that day in the showers...

"No." He whispered. "I'm not." He forced himself to look into his eyes. "We _all_ miss him, Marcus. And I know that you miss him the most. But you can't go through this alone. You can't bury all of this inside."

His shoulders were now squared back which completed his defensive pose. He was making it aware that he didn't want to be touched. But Baird ignored it.

He slowly put his arms around Marcus' neck and murmured into his ear, "I won't let you feel this pain alone. I love you too much for that."

Baird felt like he was holding onto a brick house, built sturdy but with a weak foundation that could crumble at any moment. Which is what Marcus did.

He felt arms pulling him closer to Marcus' body and the older man buried his face in the crook of Baird's neck. Baird was a bit unsure of what Marcus was doing when he felt his body shaking. He felt wetness in the area that Marcus was occupying and he then realized what was happening.

All Baird could do was hold him tighter. He only once whispered that he was sorry to the silently sobbing man who just kept on. He vaguely noticed the others looking on at the two of them, but their thoughts didn't matter now.

It was a long while before Marcus stopped, the wind casually blowing around them. It was even longer before he pulled away from Baird's embrace, embarrassed. He tried to turn away so that he didn't have to see his face. "Sorry." he whispered.

"Don't apologize." Baird rested a reassuring hand on his arm. He could see Marcus' blood shot eyes and his heavy frown as the man looked down at him. Baird's fingers trailed down Marcus' arm to his hand and he meshed their fingers together.

The look on Marcus' face told him that he was greatly appreciated which made Baird smile. It was not as if Baird and Marcus could make their relationship public. Just because they were both in the same squad and so wouldn't technically be breaking rules did _not_ erase the fact that both were men. Two men engaging in such a relationship while humanity was at the brink of extinction was unthinkable.

So whatever time Baird could get with his lover was one he was willing to risk.

Marcus nodded. "You ready?" He whispered.

Baird turned to view the wreckage of the vehicle one last time. "Yeah, let's—" He stopped short. A silver glint caught his eye in the wreckage. It looked like—

"What?" Marcus said, approaching him, looking at the tanker as well. Baird knew that he recognized what Baird has seen as well, because his body immediately stilled once more.

"Maybe you should stay here." Baird said, his heart fluttering to his throat.

Marcus' grasp on his hand became limp. "You don't think I can handle a dead body?" he growled. "I watched my father die!"

"You watched your father's molecular structure break down as if he'd been incinerated by a neutron bomb leaving no remnant of him." Baird explained. "This may be a burnt corpse."

"And _you_ have experience with this?"Marcus said, anger apparent again.

"I don't want you to get hurt worse! Is that too much ask?!" Baird blurted out, letting go of Marcus' hand. "I'd rather you remember Dom as he was _before_ he died. Not now!"

"And you don't think I can handle him?" Marcus was defensive. And he had every right to be, Baird knew. But he didn't want to make Marcus suffer anymore than he already was.

"I'm just afraid..." he said quietly. "Of what we'll see. COG tags are usually worn around the neck, right? If you look at the angle, it looks like it's suspended in the air. As if—"

"As if someone's wearing it." Marcus finished, staring at the COG tag, a little disillusioned.

"Right." Baird affirmed, but he didn't really need to.

"It's been three years." His voice couldn't almost be heard. "Do you actually think a body could be preserved that way?"

"Stranger things have happened." he whispered. "I mean, the possible explosion could have been hotter than two and a quarter thousand degrees. The body would have needed to burn for at least two hours—"

His voice trailed off as he saw Marcus' hurt face. He silently scolded himself. How insensitive could he _be_?"

"Then we should leave it alone." Marcus spoke quietly, turning away. "Respect his grave."

"But Maria—" He began as Marcus walked away. "Maria's family shrine is behind the church, right? Isn't that what you said?"

Marcus paused. His shoulders slacked and his hands hung limp as his head was slightly tilted up and to the side. "What's your point?"

Baird hesitated. "Wouldn't it be better if we placed the COG tag there? On her family shrine?"

He heard Marcus sigh. "That means that we'd possibly see a burnt body, Baird. Or some remains."  
_**  
** We. _Baird loved it when Marcus said it. But, in this particular instance, it wasn't something that he would be excited about.

"I would think that he'd want to be as close to Maria as possible—" He watched Marcus give a slight nod before walking back to him. "But I don't want you to be tormented any more than you are." He added as Marcus stood beside him. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." he muttered, eyes drifting towards the silver COG tag. "But I know that whatever I decide, I don't want you to be a part of it."

That hurt. "I'm not the one with nightmares." He matched Marcus' voice level.

"And I don't want you to start getting them." He began to walk towards the vehicle. Baird walked quickly to catch up with him. He blocked his path, putting both hands on his shoulders.

"Wait! I don't think this is a good idea—"

"Make up your mind, Baird!" Marcus growled annoyed. "Get the tag and place it on Maria's grave or leave his resting place in peace since it's already in Maria's hometown! Make up your goddamn mind!"

"I don't know!" Baird seethed harshly. "Both make sense, but _I_ don't know what he would want! I think you would!"

Marcus' eyes glimmered with anger, but it passed as what Baird said sunk in. Only Marcus would know what Dom truly wanted since he was closest to him. "I _do_ know what he wants. And what he wants is just as you said, to be closer to Maria." He turned to head towards the tanker again, Baird about to follow him when both were stopped short by Cole approaching them.

"It's...only ash." Cole said softly, holding the COG tag in a hand. Baird looked around to see the others near them. When had the rest of them had caught up to them? "I didn't see anything but it."

Baird's hands slid from Marcus as his lover took the COG piece from Cole. He could see Anya and Sam trying hard not to let their tears show while Jace had his head down. His cheeks pinkened a bit.

He was sure that they had heard their verbal spat. They shouldn't have fought in front of Dom's resting place like that.

 _Forgive us, Dom. We were being selfish._ I _was being selfish...Nothing new, huh?_

"Thanks..." Marcus whispered, staring at the slightly charted COG tag before slowly turning and making his way to the church.

Baird watched him go and was about to head after him when he felt a soft touch on his arm. Anya was looking up at him, sorrowful brown eyes staring deep into his. "Baird. We'll wait by the Junker, okay?" she whispered.

"You guys aren't going to see the grave?"

Cole and Jace shook their heads as Anya gave a failed attempt at a smile. "Dom passed away here and we want to give him our respects. But you..." She faltered a bit, closing her eyes. Sam approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder which seemed to renew her vigor. "You need to be with Marcus..."

Baird almost choked up. He knew that it hurt Anya deeply to have to surrender Marcus to him and he felt sorry for her. To say those words...

He nodded and headed after Marcus, not looking back. Walking slowly through the church ahead of him, he came out behind it to the cemetery.

Marcus was standing before a huge gravestone, an angel on top of it. It resembled Dom's tattoo when he had been alive. He stayed back, watching Marcus slowly place the COG tag onto the Flores Family grave, on top of Maria's necklace that Dom used to wear. He watched him intertwine the COG tag and necklace together around something...and he realized that it was Dom's commando knife.

He watched him kneel next to it, hand on the gravestone, head down. Baird silently approached him to get down beside him, placing a hand on his knee.

"I'll be there soon. Alright?" he whispered, eyes closed.

"They know." He returned in a soft voice. "But I'm going to be right here with you."

Marcus said nothing, but placed his hand over his.

* * *

Baird had been right. After the visit to Mercy, he had been emotionally drained. No one spoke on the way back. They had all been starving so they had headed to the mess hall which would provide a "feast" for the remembrance day for the end of the war.

After the dinner, both Marcus and he had taken a walk through the quiet streets. They were going to be separated by a large mass of water soon and both couldn't do anything about it. They had their orders and had to follow them.

Even _if_ Hoffman knew about the two of them, there would be no way that they could stay together. Baird was needed to repair Azura and help rebuild the Maelstrom. Marcus was needed on the Mainland to restore order and civility to the populace. They could only see each other a week every few months or when they got approved time off.

So their relationship was based on letters essentially. In order to keep their affair a secret, Baird wrote to Cole, but lower-cased the "C" and Marcus did the same to Anya for the "A". That way, when the respective persons received the mail, they would know who it was for.

Baird knew that it hurt Anya to receive mail from Marcus that was meant for him. But there was no other way to do it without it raising suspicion. Everyone knew—inaccurately of course—that Marcus and Anya had a relationship. Still using these pretenses, both men were able to communicate their feelings to each other.

They made sure that they were far enough away from the town before they grasped hands in silence, overlooking the ruins that was pretty much the world.

Baird didn't have to worry about Krill filling the dark sky, unsuspecting vibrations underground that warned of Locust, snipers that hid in the shattered and broken buildings, but he still found himself looking around as if expecting them.

The feeling of war would never leave him. He didn't even know if that was good or bad. But as he felt Marcus' fingers tighten on his hand, he felt confident.

The devastated world that they were staring upon would be something that they'd have to fix. And they would do it together.

Baird closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the other man's hand. It would be awhile before he would be able to feel it again. His heart was hurting at the fact that he was being torn away from the love of his life and this had been their relationship for three years.

He didn't want to be away from Marcus. He wanted to be with him. He could tell, as he turned his head to look into the other man's eyes, that he wanted it as well. But what could they do?

Marcus gently pulled him towards him and Baird's defenses nearly broke. He was swallowed into Marcus' warm embrace, holding back an anguished sigh that would have told him that he didn't want to go. He held him tightly, swallowing hard and wishing that it didn't have to be this way.

Bernie had done her best to convince Chairman Hoffman that Baird would best be served rebuilding New Jacinto, but Hoffman had told her that Azura held plenty of advanced mechanics that needed to be taken care of as well as the Maelstrom Generator that needed to stay functional in defense of the island, whatever possible offense there could be.

"It's only for a little while longer..." Marcus breathed against Baird's cheek, a lie that they both knew wasn't true, but it helped ease a bit of the pain if they believed it.

"Yeah..." Baird agreed, tightening his grasp of him in the darkness. He didn't want to let him go. Ever. He would rather stay as they were now...

Marcus gently pressed his lips against his, Baird's feelings threatening to explode from him, holding his emotions back. He deepened the kiss by taking in Marcus' tongue within his mouth.

His heart was breaking. Why did _he_ have to go? Surely there was something that Marcus could do at Azura. Or Baird could help with some projects around New Jacinto. They were going to need some expert engineers to help rebuild it anyway. It was a selfish request, and he knew this, but all he wanted was to spend his time with the person he was in love with. Was that too much to want?

"It's...time to go..." he whispered, breaking the kiss, a bit breathless.

"Just a few more minutes.." Baird pulled at Marcus' collar to bring him closer to him as Marcus held onto his face. "They can wait a few more minutes."

"Baird-" Marcus said quietly, but he interrupted.

"I won't be able to see you for months after this!" He snarled angrily. "Can't I take as much time as I can with you _now_?"

"When you finish what you're needed for there, you can come back." Marcus sounded as he always did, usually calm and reasoning, but it was obvious that he was hurting as well.

"That will take _years,_ Marcus!" Baird cried out, revealing his pain. "We're _still_ finding parts for the Maelstrom and it's been three years since it was destroyed! Even _with_ the COG files we found on it, it would take at _least_ a decade for it to be rebuilt."

"It'll only be a little while longer, Baird." was all Marcus said as they both touched lips again.

 _A little while_...Baird hated that phrase sometimes. This instance was one of them. How _long_ was a little while? Three minutes? Six weeks? Eight months? Fifteen years? How _long_ was it before he could be with him again?

Yet, there was nothing that he could do. His temporary transfer had gotten him into the mess to begin with. Hoffman had ordered all of the engineers that had been accepted for transfers-whether they were forced or asked for it-to work to rebuild Azura. That meant that Baird had been drafted for the duty, even after he had ended his temporary leave.

He knew, though, that Marcus only meant well. He could see in his eyes how hard their separation was on him and how much strain it would put on their relationship if they told each other the truth: they'd probably never be able to be as they once were again. This lie was keeping them hopeful for the possible future, although it would be generations before Sera was ever restored to its former glory.

Baird sighed then. "Why was I so stupid? I shouldn't have ever transferred. If I knew-"

"There's no way that you could have known." Marcus grumbled, in low tones. "You did what you thought was right. Just like anyone else." All Baird could do was nod.

They both looked up in the sky simultaneously when they heard something in the air approaching New Jacinto from afar. Baird tensed, thinking that it was a Reaver, but feeling Marcus' body pressed against his assured him that the flying creature wasn't ever going to make another appearance.

When the lights flashed about the center of the town, Baird could see that it was a King Raven. In other words, the transport that would take Baird away from Marcus and Anya to Azura.

They slowly to head back to the center of New Jacinto, holding hands. He could feel how Marcus got even more tense with every step back towards the small province. It could have been because he was worried if they were going to get caught. Or it could have been because each step brought them closer to Baird's departure.

When Marcus' fingers slipped from his as they neared the loading zone that was flooded with lights, Baird felt instantly cold, the warmth of the other man having left him. The Sergeant was back: rules and regulations were to be followed, no public display of affection, which meant words, eye contact, or touch. _Especially_ between men.

But what PDA would occur between them? They didn't have an intimate relationship in the public eye and were seen as two men that barely accepted the other's existence. _Right, Sergeant?_ Baird thought.

As they approached the Raven, they could see a dirty blonde haired woman glaring down at them from the cockpit.

"You ready? We don't have all night to wait on you, you know?" Gill Gettner snapped at him from the cockpit radio on the King Raven Eight-Zero. She was transporting Anya and Baird to Azura to continue their duties. Anya was in charge of setting up a COG Control Base on Azura and Baird would be helping her when he wasn't tinkering with anything mechanical that needed fixing.

"I'm coming, alright!" He shot back to her. "Not like you have anything better to do!"

"Damon..." His angry flare sizzled as he turned back to Marcus. It was rare for him to call him by his name outside of the bedroom. It was only a whisper, but Baird blushed as if he was being reprimanded loudly. He paid no attention to the Gears making their way around them, heading for their rounds or home to sleep. "Be careful."

A smile crossed Baird's face, a small one. So there was a bit of the human Marcus that showed through the tough no-shit-taking hard-ass exterior of the Sergeant.

In a post-apocalyptic world, anything could happen. But he'd be damned if he was going to die before seeing the man that he loved again. "What are you talking about?" he murmured, snorting. "I'm not the one that risks his life for others without thinking of his own. I'm more worried about you..."

Marcus grunted, hands on his hips, focusing on something on the ground, completely embarrassed which made Baird emit a quiet laugh.

"Hey, Baird." Nat Barber was on the intercom this time. "I don't want to rush you, but we _do_ need to go. I'm sure Marcus will tell Cole that you wanted to say goodbye to him."

That struck Baird then, making him feel a bit guilty. He hadn't thought of Cole at all. His short stay on the Mainland was consumed with being held by Marcus. He barely saw any sign of his buddy and now wished that he had made at least a bit of time for him.

_Oh well. Next time, buddy. In a little while._

"Yeah." He nodded in agreement to Nat's statements, looking into Marcus' eyes. "I'll see you then...Sarge."

Marcus nodded, a sad look in his eyes that was apparent for a few moments. "You will. Corporal."

Their eyes never left each other's as Baird boarded the King Raven and stood by the door. Anya appeared beside him as the Raven began to lift off.

Baird never realized how many people might be misplacing their feelings: feeling bad for Marcus and _Anya_ since they still thought the two of them had an intimate relationship and Anya was made to work in Azura. But Baird was glad that the focus was on them and not Marcus and him. To be brutally honest, he hated attention. He wasn't truly a social person anyway.

Baird could see Cole approaching from behind Marcus, giving his two finger wave at the two of them. Holding on to the rail support, Baird did the same, his eyes still on Marcus.

And he kept his eyes on him until he couldn't see him anymore.

* * *

_**Island of Azura: A few days later...** _

Baird smelled the clean rich linens that adorned Azura in his spacious suite. He was hoping that, one day, Marcus would be lying next to him on these sheets. Or on top of him. Being under Baird was but a dream that wouldn't ever be fulfilled, he was sure.

Yet all these thoughts were a fantasy that he'd have to entertain for _a_ _little while longer_...the lie that they told each other to make the hurt a bit more bearable when they both knew the truth: Baird's new life was on Azura. Marcus' wasn't.

Baird got up, retrieving his letter addressed to _cole_ to send off. People thought that they were _really_ close since Baird didn't even show his compassion for others and yet he could be seen writing a letter to his best friend nearly everyday. But they all knew that the two were buddies. So it made sense.

Yet he was painstakingly careful not to slip up and hint anything about Marcus. Since every letter in the COG was checked to see if it contained information that it shouldn't have, Baird had to make sure that his letters to Marcus that were sent as _cole_ were purely platonic. Marcus had the luxury of hiding behind the facade that Anya and he were still in a relationship, even though it was still one that was against the rules. So he could write what he felt without having to worry about it.

Having made himself look presentable, he stepped out of his room into a grand hallway in the Alcanthus Hotel that housed the island's residents. He was feeling unbearably guilty for having been blessed with such a lifestyle when he knew how hard it was to be a Gear. If he was here five years ago, he would have thought that he _deserved_ to be at Azura due to his genius.

But now, having tasted what true undeniable love was like, he didn't care about wealth. He didn't care about the money or how worthy he was to the COG. All he cared about was Marcus and how badly he wanted him with him.

Baird took the elevator to the first floor and headed for the main entrance. Everything about him sickened him. The smell of gourmet food that he knew Marcus wouldn't ever taste, the priceless art that Prescott saved and had been salvaged after Queen Myrrah's attack that Marcus wouldn't ever lay eyes on again. And Marcus wouldn't ever get to experience the true beauty of such a sight...

Baird stood still as he exited the hotel, looking at the beauty of the lush green terrain of the gardens, flush with life even under such dire circumstances. He could see the life in the trees as the birds took flight and chirped. The different faunas visually stimulating his eyes in a pleasant way. The sweet aroma the flowers gave off...

And everything-all of it-was nothing without Marcus beside him.

He knew that he'd rather be on the Mainland living in squalor than in such luxury, complaining like he had always been about how he was _way too good_ to be associated with such conditions. Even if he had been a pompous rich kid in his earlier life, he would still like to be with his Gears, his comrades at arms. And especially his man. Or at least, have his man with him.

"Baird?"

He turned towards her voice, surprised that she was up so early in the morning. It was still awkward between them. And why wouldn't it be? Still clutching the letter, he tucked it away in his back pocket.

Anya approached him, standing next to him to look out across the gardens. Past them, they could see the sea and the beautiful sunrise that was just peeking over the horizon. She said nothing as they looked on for a moment before starting. "I know this must be hard for you—"

"Anya." Baird interrupted, trying hard not to sound rude. She was still important to Marcus and Baird was still jealous of the little hold that she had over the man. But there was a fifteen year history between the two compared to Baird's meager four plus years. "Do you really want to talk about him?"

She looked away from him before responding. "No...I really don't."

A small silence ensued, only broken by the birds chirping. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to." Baird muttered, still staring out across the sea.

"Do what?" She questioned.

"Accept the letters from Marcus for me. You didn't have to offer to help us out with that."

"I was hoping you'd be able to do me a favor if I did it."

Baird raised an eyebrow as she peered into his face. "What is it?"

She hesitated before she spoke. "I just want to know...when did it all start? When did you start to catch feelings for him? And what made him catch feelings for you?"

He looked away from her so he wouldn't have to see her hurt eyes."I don't know, Anya." he whispered. "I don't know when I started wanting him. I don't know what I did to make him want me. I don't know what made us come together. But I do know that I'm in love with him. And..." He finished, turning to focus on her once more. "that I'm not going to give him up."

A smile crossed her face before she responded. "Neither am I." she said. "I'm in love with him as well." That made Baird's blood run cold.

As the sun splashed them with the first rays of its orange hue, Baird tilted his head slightly, staring down at her. "You won't ever take him away from me."

Her eyes fluttered close for a moment. "You can't have a decade of history and _not_ feel anything for the person?" Her eyes were challenging.

"Depends on if your name is Marcus Michael Fenix." Baird matched her gaze.

"I know more about him than you, Baird." she whispered. "And I travel to the Mainland much more than you are able to because of the fact that Hoffman needs to see me in person more than you. So who holds the advantage?"

Baird tried not to look disheartened as he slowly realized that Anya was toying with him. "That's true. But what I want is for him to be happy, Anya."

"With you?"

"Who else?" he retorted.

They both stared defiantly into each other's eyes before Anya smiled. "May the best Gear win his heart in totality."

"I just want to make it clear that I _w_ _on't_ share when I win." Baird said.

"And I want to make it clear that I _will_ win." She said softly before she walked off.

"Do your worst." he called after her.

Baird had to admit that he was a bit shaken as he watched her walk off. It was unnerving and disconcerting, the probability that Marcus might take Anya back into his arms. They _did_ have history and Baird knew next to nothing about the man. Anya also got to see him more often...

And it wasn't as if he could tell Marcus the conversation that had just transpired between his ex and him. The fact that Marcus still cared for her put him in a precarious position...

 _Typical woman. Sneaky bitches, aren't they?_ Baird smirked. He didn't think that Anya had it in her to challenge him for Marcus' heart and he was surprised. He guessed that putting on the COG gear and fighting with a man and _like_ one made her adopt some of their mannerisms.

Guess you couldn't ever truly know a woman's true intentions. A man wasn't like that. He was simple. He'd _tell_ you what in the hell he was doing.

He reached into his shirt and curled his fingers around the cold metal that reassured him that Marcus' heart was his and his alone. Bringing the COG medal to his lips, he placed a tender kiss upon the inscription that bore his lover's name.

Anya had never been entrusted with Marcus' COG tag, a piece that the man never parted with. _That_ was how Baird knew that he had already won.

As he looked out across the vast ocean at the land mass known as the Mainland, the sun climbing steadily higher into the sky, he was calmed knowing that the man he was enamored with was solely his, no matter what Anya tried to do.

 _Just a little while longer, Marcus..._ he thought. _And we'll be together for the rest of our lives._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this story and all the feedback that I've gotten. It was a fan-fiction that I completely loved throughout. And I'm so glad that you stuck through until the end. :)
> 
> Thank you! ^_^  
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
> 
> *Dom had given Marcus that picture of them together in one of the novels (I forget which one). Marcus always kept it with him in his uniform.
> 
> *I have no idea what metal the COG tags are made out of. I do know that Tungsten steel is the most durable steel with a melting point of over 6000 degrees Fahrenheit, over 3000 Celsius. The amount of heat for a body to burn and be made into ash would be over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, over 1000 Celsius over the period of 2-3 hours at that temperature. So, in essence, in my fan-fiction at least, the COG tags are made from Tungsten steel: the best for the best.
> 
> I think it goes without saying that Dom's body would have been incinerated in the explosion, or his body turned to ash since I'm sure the fire was over 2000 degrees and was that way for over 2-3 hours.
> 
> R.I.P. Dom.
> 
> *Geril Altar was a man who Colonel Hoffman killed for stealing food away from the COG to feed his family. Hoffman thought it was necessary to show the civilians that laws at Anvil Gate were meant to be followed when the law passed that gave the COG total control over the town of Anvegad, including the food rationing. This was in the novel Anvil Gate.
> 
> *Simon is a man in his early twenties on Vectes (Coalition's End) who threatened to take a fishing trawler of his and escape so that he wouldn't have to deal with the polyps, Lambent, and stalks overtaking his land. Hoffman realized that allowing the man to leave would have others follow his example as well as take away food (fish) from the people who stayed. Which is why he fired a round to make Simon realize that he could not leave.
> 
> *Formers were Lambent Humans.
> 
> *Gill Gettner is a pilot that usually caters to Delta-Squad. She's known for her brash personality similar to Baird's.
> 
> *Nat Barber is Gill's co-pilot. He's more considerate and humble than she.
> 
> *The Alcanthus Hotel is a luxury living space for the COG Elite. In the game, it doesn't truly seem as if anything is really destroyed except the people. Pinnacle Tower (the place that housed the scientists) had damage and obviously the Maelstrom Facility was destroyed, but the hotel seemed, relatively, untouched with minimal damage.
> 
> *I think it's important to note the timeline of their relationship because it can be confusing. The relationship between these two started in 15 A.E. because that is when they were in Vectes. After they were forced to leave, they stayed upon the ship Sovereign for 2 years before the events of Gears of War 3 (15 A.E. -17 A.E). So their relationship had been 5 years in this chapter, but 3 of them was a forced separation between the two (17.A.E - 20 A.E.).
> 
> *Everything else should have been known through the games or had been made up for the story (It seems likely that the COG would try to reorganize and Hoffman would be acting Chairman).
> 
> I did want to keep both men in character throughout the story, but it is a bit hard to do since we don't know what Marcus did behind closed doors and never got a taste of how Baird was in relationships. I also do love extreme romantic affection when people are interacting with each other (not just sex, but mannerisms which, based on your opinion, may or may not be how Baird or Marcus would act. But this is my fan-fiction and they can't keep their hands off each other when they're alone. =P).


End file.
